Accidental suffocation deaths of infants increase

Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Infant deaths attributed to accidental strangulation and suffocation in bed have increased sharply in the United States, federal health officials are reporting today, reigniting a heated debate over the rising number of parents who sleep with their babies.

An analysis of death certificates nationwide found that the rate of fatalities attributed to unintentional suffocation and strangulation in the first year of life quadrupled between 1984 and 2004.

Though such tragedies remain relatively rare, and the study did not examine what is causing the increase, the trend roughly coincided with a sharp rise in bed-sharing, which has become more popular to help mothers bond and breast-feed. Such deaths can occur when a sleeping parent rolls on top of a baby, a pillow falls on an infant’s face, a blanket gets wrapped around the child’s neck or when the baby gets wedged between a mattress and a wall.