Sleeping position in pre-term and low birth weight infants 

1 February 2006

The Avon SIDS research group, headed by Professor Peter Fleming of Bristol University, studied the sleeping position of pre-term and low birth weight infants.

They found that the risk of sleeping in a position other than on the back (ie either on the front or on the side) was associated with an increased risk of SIDS, especially for pre-term infants.

They also found that the risk of SIDS from bed-sharing was significant for both term and pre-term infants if the mother was a smoker. And, for pre-term infants or infants who weighed less than 2,500 grams at birth, bedsharing was a SIDS risk even if the mother was not a smoker.


This research is published in: Blair PS, Platt MW, Smith IJ, Fleming PJ. Sudden infant death syndrome and sleeping position in pre-term and low birth weight infants: an opportunity for targeted intervention. Arch Dis Child 2006; 91(2):101-6.