Magazines may mislead parents on SIDS and safe sleeping

Aug 27, 2009 10:46 AM

I love thumbing through vintage magazines. It's not so much for the articles (although I do like reading them) but rather for the advertisements. Whether printed in brighter-than-life color or black and white, these adverts serve up a revealing and often amusing glimpse of the aspirations, ideals, and zeitgeist of their time. But, in truth, what I relish most is their shock value, as in "Wow, did they really do/think/buy/sell THAT back then?"

Smoking ads are some of my favorites, with their stylish promotion of cigarettes' purported health benefits, not to mention their "smooth," "clean", and "springtime fresh" taste (you can find a great collection of these here). Equally eyebrow-raising are many ads related to kids, including pitches for bug sprays that show a mom saturating the air with pesticide during mealtime or naptime (you can watch the TV version of an early Australian ad here). And then there are the ads showing babies peacefully sleeping on their bellies in a sea of soft bedding, which we now know significantly increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). You'd never see that sort of image today—or would you?

A new study* shows that many magazine ads and articles do indeed depict unsafe sleep positions and environments for infants, despite their known link to SIDS. This has the potential, say researchers, to sway parents into thinking such practices are not only safe, but preferable.

Researchers analyzed images in 24 magazines with wide circulation among 20- to 40-year-old women, including entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, pregnancy, and parenting publications. In total, they found 391 pictures that depicted infant sleep positions and environments. Nearly 7 in 10 were in advertisements.The researchers found that more than one third of infant-sleep pictures showed babies lying on their side or stomach, rather than on their back, as is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). AAP guidelines also weren't reflected in two-thirds of sleep-environment pictures, many of which showed loose bedding, pillows, and soft sleep surfaces.

"There are major discrepancies between what doctors recommend to prevent sudden infant death syndrome and what moms may see in mainstream media," says Rachel Moon, MD, a pediatrician and co-author of the study. "The most important thing for moms to realize is that what they see in magazines may not be what's best for their baby in real life." Solid advice (and for dads, too).

What you need to know. No one knows for sure what triggers SIDS, which is the leading cause of death for babies aged 1 month to 1 year. But research has found several things that can reduce the risk, such as putting babies to sleep on their back, avoiding soft sleep surfaces, not sharing a bed, and not having anyone in the household smoke.

This isn't new information. In fact, deaths from SIDS have decreased by more than 50 percent since the AAP first published its guidelines on safe sleep practices 16 years ago. However, the decline in SIDS deaths has leveled off in recent years. Experts are concerned that many parents just aren't getting the message on safe sleeping. Could conflicting signals in the media be partially to blame? This study certainly raises that possibility.

—Sophie Ramsey, patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group (British Medical Journal) to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

Read more about the risk factors for SIDS and take a look at the 7 things that reduce your baby's risk (subscribers only).

*links to PDF