Sudden unexpected death study underlines risks of infants sleeping in sitting devices

Biologic plausibility of risk factors is required to strengthen risk reduction strategies. The "triple risk model" for SIDS describes the interplay of a vulnerable infant, during a critical developmental period, interacting with external stressors (2). Identified external stressors are the supine sleep position and smoke exposure (3). Airway occlusion has been identified as a contributory mechanism in SIDS and may be relevant in deaths occurring in seating devices (4), which are increasingly used in routine infant care for up to six hours a day (3). Accidental death from strangulation, falls and suffocation in seating devices is well described (5). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Language: en