- Sleep-related infant deaths are spiking at a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
- The hospital has seen 30 infant deaths linked to unsafe sleep situations since January 2022.
Ronin was just 3 months old when he passed away in his parents' bed.
Looking back, his mother wishes she had known about the risk of suffocation before she let her infant sleep on his side, she said in a video shared by Cook Children's Medical Center. When Ronin's father checked on him mid-nap, he was laying on his back next to a down pillow.
A year later, the Fort Worth, Texas hospital is still trying to educate parents about safe sleeping practices, such as placing a baby down to sleep on its back and away from blankets and pillows.
The trauma team at Cook Children's has seen 30 infant deaths related to unsafe sleeping situations in the past 15 months, according to a news release published last week. In most cases, the infant was co-sleeping with a parent or caregiver, who woke up to find the child unresponsive.
Nationally, about 3,400 babies in the US die suddenly and unexpectedly each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the cause of death is not always clear and often cannot be prevented, at least 905 of those deaths were attributed to accidental suffocation in 2020.
Co-sleeping can be a hard habit to break, especially for tired parents
The number of unsafe infant sleep deaths at Cook Children's is the highest it's been in 15 years, and it isn't affecting all babies equally.
According to the hospital's demographic data, Black male infants between 2 months and 6 months old were most likely to be affected.
Black babies made up 54% of infant deaths related to unsafe sleep practices, Hispanic babies comprised another 23% of deaths, white infants made up 10% of the deaths, and the rest were of unknown race.
Across all demographic groups, co-sleeping can be a tough habit to break, Cook Children's pediatric nurse practitioner Candle Johnson said in the hospital news release.
"It seems to be so much easier to co-sleep when breastfeeding," she said. "I do advise against that because even though it may be easier, it's not safe."
Fort Worth isn't the only city that has seen a spike in infant deaths related to unsafe sleep
This February, health officials in Baltimore County said that four infants died due to unsafe sleeping conditions in just two months. "Four is what we normally see over the course of an entire year," health officer Gregory Branch told the Baltimore Banner.
In Springfield, Missouri, sleep-rated infant deaths rose from four in 2021, to 10 in 2022, according to local news station KY3.
Accidental infant deaths seem to be on the rise since 2020, although a recent study in Pediatrics determined that a change in diagnostic criteria led to an increase in reporting.
But the trend may also reflect wider health disparities in the US, according to a doctor's commentary published alongside the study. During the first year of the pandemic, sudden deaths among Black infants increased, while other racial groups did not see a significant change.
Avoid co-sleeping and clear away blankets
To make sure a baby sleeps safely, it's important that an infant sleeps separately from adults on a firm, flat surface, such as a crib or bassinet, according to Cook Children's. A parent should share a room with a new baby, but not a bed.
While it might be tempting to doze off next to your child, no one can control their body function once they're asleep, Johnson said in the news release. An infant can get wedged between the headboard and pillow, or the adult might accidentally shift while sleeping.
"When you're in a deep sleep and your infant is next to you, you're not able to say 'I won't roll over on them,'" she said.
Other safe sleep practices include placing your baby on their back to sleep, especially if they are unable to roll over. The mattress should have tightly-fitted sheets, and no blankets, pillows, or soft toys should be allowed in the sleep area.
Finally, the hospital recommended that parents use sleep sacks instead of swaddling their babies, especially after a baby is able to roll over.