The Status of Iowa Sleep-Related Infant Mortality: An Evaluation of Safe Sleep Education Delivery, Policy, and Practice in Birthing Hospitals
type: CreativeWork
description: Problem: Sleep-related infant mortality, including sudden infant death syndrome, asphyxia, and undetermined or unknown causes, is the third leading cause of death nationally and in Iowa (Harris, 2014; Malloy & Ramirez, 2013). Evidence exists for increasing rates of bed sharing, a major risk factor for sleep-related mortality (Kemp et al., 2000). Preventive messaging is most widely and effectively delivered by health professionals at time of birth (Shaefer, Herman, Frank, Adkins, & Tehaar, 2010). The intent of this study was to provide a characterization of infant, maternal, and environmental factors contributing to sleep-related infant mortality and a comprehensive review of safe sleep education policy and practices in Iowa birthing hospitals. Procedures: An experimental, cross-sectional study design was used to analyze infant mortality data reported by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner to the Child Death Reporting system from 2004-2012. Analyses included mortality trends for sleep-related mortality parsed by Sudden Infant Death (SIDS), asphyxia, and undetermined or unknown cause, descriptive statistics for maternal and infant demographic factors, and correlations for environmental factors potentially contributing to sleep-related death. An adjacent effort with Iowa birthing hospitals involved use of a web-based survey to assess policies, parent education programs, clinical practice, and training related to safe infant sleep or SIDS. The survey was directed toward obstetric unit coordinators with content drawn from previous efforts to ascertain clinical practice. Findings: Sleep-related mortality in Iowa has been steadily increasing since 2004. Subcategorical examination of this trend revealed rises in SIDS and undetermined or unknown cases, but a stable rate of deaths due to asphyxia. These infants (n=384) were more often males (58.6%), lived an average age of 102 days, were living with multiple children at time of death, and had a young mother. An alar…
abstract: Problem: Sleep-related infant mortality, including sudden infant death syndrome, asphyxia, and undetermined or unknown causes, is the third leading cause of death nationally and in Iowa (Harris, 2014; Malloy & Ramirez, 2013). Evidence exists for increasing rates of bed sharing, a major risk factor for sleep-related mortality (Kemp et al., 2000). Preventive messaging is most widely and effectively delivered by health professionals at time of birth (Shaefer, Herman, Frank, Adkins, & Tehaar, 2010). The intent of this study was to provide a characterization of infant, maternal, and environmental factors contributing to sleep-related infant mortality and a comprehensive review of safe sleep education policy and practices in Iowa birthing hospitals. Procedures: An experimental, cross-sectional study design was used to analyze infant mortality data reported by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner to the Child Death Reporting system from 2004-2012. Analyses included mortality trends for sleep-related mortality parsed by Sudden Infant Death (SIDS), asphyxia, and undetermined or unknown cause, descriptive statistics for maternal and infant demographic factors, and correlations for environmental factors potentially contributing to sleep-related death. An adjacent effort with Iowa birthing hospitals involved use of a web-based survey to assess policies, parent education programs, clinical practice, and training related to safe infant sleep or SIDS. The survey was directed toward obstetric unit coordinators with content drawn from previous efforts to ascertain clinical practice. Findings: Sleep-related mortality in Iowa has been steadily increasing since 2004. Subcategorical examination of this trend revealed rises in SIDS and undetermined or unknown cases, but a stable rate of deaths due to asphyxia. These infants (n=384) were more often males (58.6%), lived an average age of 102 days, were living with multiple children at time of death, and had a young mother. An alar…
author: Harris, Meghan L.
language: en_US
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-27T19:18:43Z
provider: Drake University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Drake University