About 3,500 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year in the United States. Most of these deaths result from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death, such as suffocation.
Safe to Sleep® campaign launched in 1994. Formerly the Back to Sleep campaign.
Mission: to educate parents, caregivers, and health care providers about ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death.
SIDS. The proportion of infants placed on their backs to sleep increased from 27% to 73%.
Graphic: A pair of pie charts showing the proportion of infants placed on their backs to sleep increased from 27% in 1993 to 73% in 2010.
Graphic: Bar graph titled Number of SIDS Deaths. The graph shows the number of SIDS deaths decreased from 4,073 in 1994 to 1,545 in 2014.
Graphic: Bar graph titled Number of Other Sleep-related Infant Deaths. The graph shows that the number of other sleep-related infant deaths increased from 903 in 1994 to 1,945 in 2014.
60%. The U.S. SIDS rate dropped more than 60% between 1994 and 2014. However, the rate of infant deaths from other sleep-related causes has increased.
Safe Sleep Environment
To reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death:
- Always place baby on his or her back to sleep for all sleep times, including naps.
Graphic: Illustration of baby lying on back to sleep. - Room share—keep the baby’s sleep area in the same room, next to your sleep area.
Graphic: Illustration representing room sharing showing a baby’s crib and an adult bed next to each other. - Use a firm sleep surface free from soft objects, toys, blankets, and crib bumpers.
Graphic: Illustration of a baby sleeping in a crib alone.
Learn more about ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death at http://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov.
Graphic: Logo of the Safe to Sleep campaign.
Graphic: Logo of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Links to http://www.hhs.gov
Graphic: Logo of the NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Links to https://www.nichd.nih.gov/Pages/index.aspx
Graphic: Follow Us on Twitter .
Graphic: Like Us on Facebook .
Graphic: Visit Us on Pinterest .
Graphic: Visit Us on Flickr .
Back to Safe Sleep for Your Baby Vertical infographic.
BACK TO TOP