title: Infant sleep position: associated maternal and infant factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the maternal and infant characteristics associated with the back sleep position for infants to guide efforts to increase its use and reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey of 3349 mothers delivering in California, February-May 1999.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-two percent of infants were placed in the back sleep position. Factors associated with a lower likelihood of using the back position included all levels of maternal education less than college (eg, for education eighth grade or less--adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40-0.86); income at or below federal poverty level (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47-0.90); multiparity (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67-0.95); race/ethnicity African American (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.37-0.65) and Asian/Pacific Islander (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.48-0.89); speaking a non-English language (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.55, 0.86); and infant age over 7 months (OR, 0.70, 95% CI, 0.52-0.96). Women in Los Angeles (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.42-0.77) and urban areas other than San Diego (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53-0.92) were less likely to use the back position than those in San Francisco.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greater efforts are needed to promote the back sleep position among families with mothers who lack education beyond some college; live in poverty; and who are African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, multiparous, or non-English speaking.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Pediatrics, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif, USA. echung@nemours.org
authors.forename: Esther K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yun-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.forename: Gilberto F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Chavez
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braveman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011187:Posture; D044469:Racial Groups; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control