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Effect of religious observance on infants’ sleep position in the Jewish population
Author(s) -
Sivan Y,
Reisner S,
Amitai Y,
Wasser J,
Nehama H,
Tauman R
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2004.00458.x
Subject(s) - medicine , judaism , prone position , sleep (system call) , population , parity (physics) , demography , telephone survey , anesthesia , environmental health , theology , sociology , philosophy , physics , particle physics , computer science , operating system , marketing , business
Objectives: To describe the effect of the level of religiousness on infants’ sleep position in the Jewish population. Methods: A longitudinal telephone survey of randomly selected 608 2‐month‐old Jewish infants repeated at 4 and 6 months. Results were analyzed versus the four levels of Jewish religion observance. Results: A significant correlation was found between the level of religious practice and sleep position ( P ≤ 0.002). 56.8% (50/88) of ultra‐orthodox parents put their babies to sleep in the non‐prone position, compared with 79% (411/520) in the other three groups ( P < 0.001). Non‐prone sleeping decreased when infants grew. Higher parity correlated with the level of religiousness and with prone sleeping in religious families (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.00−1.33, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Jews and especially the ultra‐orthodox families comply significantly less with recommendations to avoid prone sleeping. Specific measures may be required in this population that rely more on personal experience and belief than on health care provider advice.