Approximately 3,500 U.S. infants die of sleep-related causes each year. After sharp declines following safe sleep recommendations introduced in the 1990s and a long period of stagnation, the SUID rate rose 12% between 2020 and 2022, from 89.9 to 100.5 deaths per 100,000 live births. The 2024 rate cited in the report is 93.6.
A peer-reviewed review of 154 Pennsylvania SUID-related deaths from 2018 and 2019 found that 46.0% involved a shared sleep surface and 33.1% involved an adult bed. Among the infants in its 2018 cases, 34.5% had been placed on their back for sleep.
The AAP guidance summarized in the report recommends back sleeping for every sleep, a firm and flat separate sleep surface, room-sharing without bed-sharing for at least six months, and an empty sleep area without soft bedding. It also identifies breastfeeding or expressed human milk, routine immunization, and avoiding substance exposure as protective factors.
The report also documents persistent disparities. Historical 2010-2013 figures cited in the research show rates more than twice as high for American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic Black infants as for non-Hispanic white infants. Current AAP guidance continues to characterize the disparity as ongoing.
This is a synthesis of published research and guidance, not proprietary patient data or original statistical analysis. Pennsylvania case-review findings are not nationally representative, and historical disparity figures may not reflect the most current single-year breakdown. This report is educational and does not provide individualized medical advice.