Infant Safe Sleep: A Pocket Guide for Clinicians

This book is a practical, comprehensive look at safe sleep for infants, including safe sleep for infants with co-occurring medical conditions. Currently there is a dearth of resources on this topic for general pediatricians and other clinicians who provide health care to infants. The only evidence-based information about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths is published in policy statements and technical reports published by the American Academy of Paediatrics. However pediatricians, public health professionals, and others who provide health care, anticipatory guidance, and/or health education to parents often have difficulty translating the policy recommendations to practice.

This book gives guidance and suggestions for clinicians for counseling parents and other caretakers of infants. It discusses common barriers to adherence, as well as approaches that are evidence-based or use behavior change theory. Chapters focus on important aspects of the sleep environment, evaluating commonly sold sleep products, and common sleep practices, including roomsharing and bedsharing. There is also a thorough discussion of SIDS pathophysiology, and a closing chapter on grief and counselling families after a loss.

Each chapter follows an organizational structure, to promote consistency and ensure this remains a practical, easy-to-use tool. Chapters open with a clinical vignette and close with a discussion of frequently encountered questions, and clinical pearls and pitfalls. Infant Safe Sleep is a valuable resource for pediatricians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants as well as social workers, allied health professionals, public health practitioners, health educators, WIC nutritionists and child care providers.