Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome Literature overview and evaluation of the SIDS Hamm prevention project

Introduction Nowadays the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is markedly less frequent than 30 years ago due to different prevention measures. We conducted a rapid review to identify effective preventive measures and evaluated a long-term SIDS prevention campaign in Hamm, Germany. Methods The systematic literature search yielded 17 articles from 2004 onwards reporting results and describing a SIDS Intervention. For the evaluation campaign, survey data obtained during consultations from parents of newborns between 2011 and 2018 were analyzed. Postnatally and 3 months after birth parents were informed about SIDS risk factors (orally and by written materials) and were asked about their planned and realized baby care. Results Results of the review confirmed the good feasibility of the supine position as sleeping position. Interventions targeting sleeping environment or smoking behavior in the household were less successful. In the intervention campaign SIDS Hamm 90% of respondents reported used the supine position for the infant and 46% realized the recommended sleeping environment. Parents more often adhered to supine positioning (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.03-1.72) and the recommended sleeping environment (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16-1.74) when health education advice about SIDS risk factors was given by their pediatrician. Discussion The literature shows deficits in the implementation of the recommended sleeping environment and smoking behavior in the SIDS prevention. Through different approaches of knowledge transfer the SIDS Hamm campaign was able to support parents while implementing SIDS prevention measures and hence reduce risk of SIDS.