Inclined sleeper-associated sudden unexpected infant deaths continued after recall

Sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs) continued to occur in inclined sleepers even after manufacturer recalls in 2019, according to a study published online Feb. 23 in Pediatrics.

Sasha Mintz and Abigael Collier, Dr.P.H., from the Michigan Public Health Institute in Okemos, used the Pediatric National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System to identify SUIDs occurring in inclined sleepers from 2009 to 2023.

The researchers identified 158 SUIDs in inclined sleepers. More than two-thirds of the deaths (68%) occurred from 2009 to 2019, while 32% occurred after 2019, the year the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled inclined sleepers due to reports of infant deaths. Two-thirds of infants were younger than four months of age. More than eight in 10 of these incidents occurred at the infant’s home (86%) under the supervision of a parent (83%).

Nearly three in 10 infants were reportedly placed supine to sleep and were subsequently found unresponsive nonsupine. In just under one-third of cases (32%), the child death review team indicated the infant’s airway was obstructed when found: 55% by the inclined sleeper material and 35% by other soft bedding in the sleep environment (not mutually exclusive).

“Health care providers, home visitors, health insurers, and family-serving organizations should continue advising caregivers on the importance of a safe infant sleep environment, including use of a firm, noninclined surface, and avoidance of soft bedding,” the authors write.

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