Too many parents still place their infants on their stomach to sleep

All the posts are public health issues, but this one is particularly poignant. As the commentary to a recent paper published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine states:

"Sleep position is an important safety issue for infants younger than 1 year. This is because sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is associated with infants sleeping on their tummies. Sudden infant death syndrome is the leading cause of death for infants younger than 1 year. It most commonly occurs in babies between the ages of 2 and 4 months. Despite more than 15 years of the "back to sleep" educational campaign, some parents still are not provided with appropriate education about the safest sleep position for babies."

The authors of the study itself interviewed approximately 1000 nighttime caregivers of infants per year over a fifteen year period to determine whether or not the infant is usually placed on his or her back to sleep. Although the message has gotten out in the past decade or so, too many parents remain misled due to...

"...concern about comfort, choking, and [misleading] advice."

It is not difficult  for health professionals with training and experience in the management of cranial and upper cervical conditions to understand how rotation of the head to the side while prone would result in mechanical stress to the vulnerable infant respiratory centers (through torque on the delicate brain stem and its meningeal covering). The authors note in their conclusion:

"To decrease sudden infant death syndrome rates, we must ensure that public health measures reach the populations at risk and include messages that address concerns about infant comfort and choking."