Infant sleep location: associated maternal and infant characteristics with sudden infant death syndrome prevention recommendations.

Objective: To identify factors associated with infant sleep location.

Study Design: Demographic information and infant care practices were assessed for 708 mothers of infants ages 0 to 8 months at Women, Infants and Children centers. Generalized linear latent mixed models were constructed for the outcome, sleeping arrangement last night (room-sharing without bed-sharing versus bed-sharing, and room-sharing without bed-sharing versus sleeping in separate rooms).

Results: Two-thirds of the mothers were African-American. A total of 48.6% mothers room-shared without bed-sharing, 32.5% bed-shared, and 18.9% slept in separate rooms. Compared with infants who slept in separate rooms, infants who room-shared without bed-sharing were more likely to be Hispanic (odds ratio [OR], 2.58, 95% CI 1.11-5.98) and younger (3.66- and 1.74-times more likely for infants 0-1 month old and 2-3 months old, respectively, as compared with older infants). Compared with infants who bed-shared, infants who room-shared without bed-sharing were more likely to be 0 to 1 month old (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.05-2.35) and less likely to be African-American (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26-0.70) or have a teenage mother (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.23-0.58).

Conclusions: Approximately one-third of mothers and infants bed-share, despite increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The factors associated with bed-sharing are also associated with SIDS, likely rendering infants with these characteristics at high risk for SIDS.