What the Data Shows About Safe Sleep and SIDS Prevention

Approximately 3,500 U.S. infants die of sleep-related causes each year. After major declines following the 1990s safe sleep campaign and a long period of stagnation, the SUID rate increased from 89.9 to 100.5 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2020 and 2022, a 12% rise; the most recent rate cited in the report is 93.6 in 2024. The report synthesizes published national surveillance, AAP guidance, and a 154-case Pennsylvania review to explain the trend, recurring sleep-environment risks, persistent racial disparities, and the importance of repeated safe sleep counseling.

• Approximately 3,500 U.S. infants die of sleep-related causes each year, and SUID is the leading cause of death in the postneonatal period from one month through the first year of life.
• The SUID rate rose 12% from 89.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 to 100.5 in 2022; CDC/NCHS data place the 2024 rate at 93.6.
• In a 2025 peer-reviewed review of 154 Pennsylvania SUID-related deaths from 2018 and 2019, 46.0% involved sharing a sleep surface with another person or animal and 33.1% involved an adult bed.
• Among infants who died in the Pennsylvania review's 2018 cases, 34.5% had been placed on their back for sleep.
• AAP guidance recommends back sleeping for every sleep; a firm, flat, separate sleep surface; room-sharing without bed-sharing for at least six months; and an empty sleep area without soft bedding.
• Historical national data cited in the report show SUID rates of 190.5 per 100,000 for American Indian/Alaska Native infants and 171.8 for non-Hispanic Black infants, compared with 84.4 for non-Hispanic white infants during 2010-2013. Current AAP guidance continues to describe this disparity as ongoing.

Research Partner

One Family Pediatrics

Study ID

ASBRC-2026-023

Geography

United States / North Atlanta context

Industry

Pediatric healthcare

Research Area

Healthcare & Family Business Insight

Primary Data Sources

CDC Division of Reproductive Health and CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System, SUID and SIDS data through 2024, American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 safe sleep policy statement and current clinical resources, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 2025 Pennsylvania SUID sleep-environment review (n=154), AAP News, 2025, citing Wolf et al. on the 2020-2022 SUID rate increase, National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Fatalities

Publication Date

September 2026

Status

Published

This research synthesis reports that the U.S. SUID rate rose 12% between 2020 and 2022 and stood at 93.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, while case-review evidence continues to identify shared sleep surfaces, unsafe adult beds, and non-supine sleep among recurring risk patterns.

For families and caregivers, the report emphasizes back sleeping for every sleep, room-sharing without bed-sharing, a firm and flat separate sleep surface, and communicating the same guidance to every caregiver. It also frames repeated counseling at newborn and early well-child visits as an important way to reinforce practices during a demanding period for families.

This report is a research synthesis based exclusively on published CDC Division of Reproductive Health and CDC/NCHS surveillance data, the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2022 safe sleep policy statement and current clinical resources, a 2025 peer-reviewed Pennsylvania sleep-environment study, AAP News reporting, and child-fatality review resources. One Family Pediatrics did not collect proprietary patient data, and the report presents no original statistical analysis.

The report does not measure North Atlanta-specific SUID outcomes. The detailed sleep-environment findings come from 154 Pennsylvania deaths in 2018 and 2019 and should not be treated as a nationally representative estimate of every SUID circumstance. The racial disparity figures use 2010-2013 data identified during the research and may not reflect the most current single-year breakdown, although current AAP guidance continues to describe the disparity as ongoing. Observed patterns do not determine the circumstances of an individual death, and the report does not provide individualized medical advice.

• CDC Division of Reproductive Health and CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System, SUID and SIDS data through 2024
• American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 safe sleep policy statement and current clinical resources
• Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 2025 Pennsylvania SUID sleep-environment review (n=154)
• AAP News, 2025, citing Wolf et al. on the 2020-2022 SUID rate increase
• National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Fatalities

One Family Pediatrics provided pediatric and parent-education context for applying published safe sleep guidance to families across Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Dawson, Cherokee, and Fulton counties. The underlying surveillance and case-review data are published external sources, not proprietary practice data.

• Full Report PDF: Full report PDFAvailable
• Executive Summary: Executive summaryAvailable
• Methodology: Methodology notesAvailable
• Citation: American Small Business Research Center. What the Data Shows About Safe Sleep and SIDS Prevention. ASBRC-2026-023. September 2026.Available
• Press Release: Press releaseAvailable
• Charts: ChartsComing Soon
• Media Kit: Media kitComing Soon

American Small Business Research Center. What the Data Shows About Safe Sleep and SIDS Prevention. ASBRC-2026-023. September 2026.

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One Family Pediatrics. Research partners may provide topic context, access to subject matter expertise, or financial support for the research process. The American Small Business Research Center maintains editorial independence. Research partners do not determine findings, methodology, conclusions, or publication decisions.