Changes in Sleep Practices During and After Illness.

Abstract

Unsafe sleep practices contribute to sleep-related infant mortality. Recent infant illness is a risk factor for sudden unexplained infant death. This study examined changes to safe sleep practices during and after infant illness. We performed a prospective cohort survey study of caregivers of infants (aged 0-12 months) presenting to the pediatric emergency department (ED) for illness. Surveys assessed sleep practices before, during, and after illness (2-week and 1-month follow-ups). We assessed adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe sleep recommendations at each time point. Differences in adherence were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression, whereas Poisson regression was used to evaluate the change in number of safe sleep practices for selected participant characteristics. Of 131 enrolled participants, 106 (81%) completed all follow-up surveys. Adherence to AAP recommendations was low (<10%) across all time points but decreased during illness without a significant change following illness. Bed-sharing increased from 57.3% pre-illness to 68.7% during illness (P = .032) and remained elevated at the 1-month follow-up (83.6%). Sleeping in a crib or pack n' play decreased from 61.8% pre-illness to 48.1% during illness (P = .005) and remained low at follow-up. Caregiver motivations changed during illness, with fewer citing safety (46.6% vs 42.0%) and more being influenced by family recommendations (5.3% vs 15.3%). Caregivers of infants presenting to the ED for low acuity illness report low adherence to safe sleep practices, which worsened during and after illness. Future studies should explore targeted, illness-specific anticipatory guidance to reinforce safe sleep practices during and after illness.