BC Council for Families

Fifteen years after paediatricians began recommending that babies be put to sleep on their backs, more than one third of pictures of sleeping babies in parenting magazines show them in inappropriate sleep positions, according to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics. Dr Rachel Moon, one of the study’s authors cautions, “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.”

The study’s finding are of concern to health professionals, as it’s known that exposure to media images and messages plays a large role in affecting individual behaviour.  And magazine and advertising images may often be the predominant form of information new parents receive. Doctors and community workers can combat misperceptions by reinforcing information about proper sleep positions for infants.

To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends:

• Placing babies on their backs when sleeping.
• That babies should sleep on a separate surface from parents.
• Removing blankets, pillows, or other soft bedding from an infant’s sleep area.
• Avoiding placing infants on their side or stomach to sleep.

The study, titled “Infant Sleep Environments Depicted in Magazines Targeted to Women of Childbearing Age”, appears in the September issue of Pediatrics. It reviewed 28 magazines read by women 20-40 years old with a readership of over 5 million. See more tips on Safe Sleep for Babies from the Canadian Paediatric Society.