Cutting SIDS risk

THESE days, most parents put infants to sleep on their backs, successfully cutting the death rate from sudden infant death syndrome by 44% since 1992. Now a study has found that even one lapse from this routine can increase a baby’s risk of death.  

As part of a three-year study, Kaiser Permanente investigators questioned mothers of 185 infants who died of SIDS and 312 randomly selected moms of healthy babies in 11 California counties. Unlike earlier studies, which were mostly done overseas, the California mothers represented racially and culturally diverse groups.