Survey: Many adults don't know important facts that can help prevent SIDS

Survey: Many adults don't know important facts that can help prevent SIDS

Sudden infant syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected, unexplained, sudden death of a child younger than one year old. Although the number of babies born in the United States has declined in recent decades, it is the leading cause of death in infants between one month and one year old, and around 2,300 babies die from it each year, according to Boston Children's Hospital.

But new health survey data from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) finds that many people don't know two corollary facts that could help reduce the number of deaths from SIDS: First, babies under one year old should be placed on their backs to sleep at all times, including naps. Infants who sleep on their backs are much less likely to die from SIDs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And second, babies exposed to second-hand smoke in a home are at higher risk for SIDS, the CDC reports.

Babies should be put to sleep on their backs

The APPC Health Survey conducted in April with a nationally representative sample of more than 1,600 U.S. adults found that two-thirds (65%) know that a baby should normally be put to sleep on their back. But a third of respondents don't know this: 12% say a baby should be put to sleep on its side, 9% say on its stomach, and 13% aren't sure.

Adult women of childbearing age (18-49 years) are more likely to know that the correct way to sleep a baby is usually in the child's back. The survey finds that 76% of women in this age group say this, a significantly larger proportion compared to men and older women: only 54% of men aged 50 or older know this; 64% of men 18-49 years old; and 66% of women aged 50 or older.

Parents, grandparents, and anyone else who cares for infants should know that it is safest to place a child on their back when putting them to sleep. Our data suggest that some potential caregivers may not be well informed about this recommendation. “

Laura A. Gibson, Appc Research Analyst

Smoking at home is a risk for SIDS

Over half of respondents (56%) know that smoking in a baby's home increases the chances that the baby will die from SIDS. But 15% mistakenly think this is false and 29% say they are not sure it is true. Encouragingly, the percentage of those who believe this is definitely true increased from 18% in our survey in June 2023 to 23% in April 2025, a statistically significant increase.

“Family discussions about the effects of secondhand smoke must include a reminder that its effects on infants can be profound,” says Ken Winneg, APPC’s managing director of survey research.

Younger adults (18-49 years) are more likely than older adults to find that smoking in a home increases the risk of SIDS. The survey finds that 67% of 18- to 49-year-old women and 64% of men in the same age group know this to be true, significantly larger proportions than the 53% of older women and 36% of older men who know this. Notably, 40% of older men say they are unsure whether smoking in the home increases the risk of SIDS deaths in infants more than other groups.

Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey

The survey data comes from the 24th wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,653 U.S. adults conducted by SSRS, an independent market research firm for the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Most have been empaneled since April 2021. To account for attrition, replenishment samples were added over time using a random sampling design. The most recent replenishment in September 2024 added 360 respondents to the sample. This wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey was conducted April 15-28, 2025. The margin of sampling error (MOE) is ± 3.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number and cannot be increased to 100%. Combined subcategories may not add to the topline and text totals due to rounding.

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