[Sleeping position to prevent sudden infant death syndrome in Latin-american and Caribbean hospitals].

Background The prone sleeping position for sleeping has been identified as the principal risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of different sleeping positions and other risk factors for SIDS and to identify the advice given to parents in several maternity units in Latin America and the Caribbean through a specially-designed questionnaire.MethodsDescriptive cross-sectional study based in hospitals. All the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean were contacted through the Pan American Health Organization and responses were obtained from 16 countries.ResultsTwo hundred thirteen hospitals answered the survey. The preferred sleeping position for healthy infants was prone in 8.5 % of the hospitals, side in 48.8 %, and supine in 25.2 %. In 17.5 % of the hospitals no position was preferred or the answers were inconsistent.Concerning the recommendations given to parents on the best position for their infants at home, 25.7 % recommended the supine position, 7.6 % the prone position, 59.0 % the side position while 7.6 % made no recommendations.ConclusionsThe results of this study show that in the hospitals surveyed there is a policy of not placing healthy neonates in the prone position. However, the most frequent position was the side, which is not advisable as it increases the risk of SIDS. To reduce in the incidence of SIDS, campaigns to increase the use of the supine position should be carried out in hospitals and among the general public.