Fact Sheet

• Since 2010, 810 babies have died in Michigan due to sleep-related deaths₁.  In 2015, 159 infants in Michigan died due to sleep-related deaths₁.
• A sleep-related infant death is the death of an otherwise healthy infant with no obvious trauma or disease process present, birth to one year of age, where elements of an unsafe sleeping environment were present. This encompasses infant deaths classified as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), ASSB (Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed) and Unkown.
• Unsafe sleep environment includes soft bedding, articles in the crib or bed, infant sleeping in an adult bed or on other sleep surfaces such as a couch or chair, infant sleeping with another adult or child, and infant sleeping in a non-supine position (i.e. on the stomach or side).
• Sleep-related infant death is a leading cause of death among infants less than 1 year in Michigan₁.
• Nearly 44% of infants who died of sleep-related causes were found on their stomach and 11% were found on their side₁.
• Based on the sleep-related infant deaths that were reviewed from 2010 to 2015, nearly 50% of infants that died were in an adult bed, 15% were place on a couch, chair, or floor and 12% were placed in other unsafe sleep locations₁.
• Of the sleep-related infant deaths that were reviewed in 2015, approximately 60% of the infants that died involved suffocation hazards present in the sleep environment, such as blankets (84%), pillows (25%), bumper pads (15%) and stuffed toys (5%).  In some cases, more than one of these items was present in the infant’s sleep environment at the time of death.

¹ Michigan SUID Case Registry. Contact Katie Parker 517-324-8397 for more information.