Optimizing the sleep position of infants and embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bags in maternity hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact in maternity hospitals of using an embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bag on observing the sleeping recommendations at 1 month after birth. METHOD: This was a multicentere prospective study, exposed/unexposed type, in which mothers answered questionnaires (by telephone and online) 1 month after giving birth. The exposed group consisted of mothers who had given birth in a maternity hospital of the ELENA network in which the embroidered sleeping bag was used as a preventive action; the unexposed group of mothers gave birth in a maternity hospital of the RP2S network, without this specific preventive action. RESULTS: A total of 540 mothers participated in the study: 245 in the exposed group and 295 in the unexposed group. In the exposed group, 87.3% of infants slept exclusively on their back versus 75.9% in the unexposed group (P<0.001); 91% of the mothers reported having actually used the sleeping bag. Except for room-sharing, compliance with the other sleeping recommendations was higher in the exposed group. CONCLUSION: Sleeping practices when infants were 1 month old were not optimal in our study population. A simple preventive initiative in maternity hospitals, using the embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bags, is relevant and effective in improving compliance with the sleeping recommendations for infants at home.