Parenting magazine images may promote unsafe infant sleep environments

SAN DIEGO — Only 29% of images in magazines geared towards parents depicted safe sleep environments for infants, according to data presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting.

“Sleep-related deaths are the third leading cause of infant mortality, responsible for more than 3,500 deaths each year,” study researcher Michael Goodstein, MD, FAAP, of WellSpan York Hospital and Pennsylvania State University, said in a press release.

Michael Goodstein

Goodstein and colleagues assessed images of sleeping infants from three stock photo websites and 26 magazines published in 2014 whose audience was expectant parents or parents of young children. Final analysis included 579 images from stock photo websites and 36 images from 13 magazine issues.

Overall, infants were in the supine position in 50.3% of stock photos and 67% of magazine photos.

Approximately 16% of infant sleep environments in stock photos and 29% in magazines were consistent with AAP recommendations. Thirty-three percent of infants were in the prone position while 17% were shown sleeping with another person.

“One-third of magazine images showed infants sleeping on the tummy, which doubles the risk of sudden infant death syndrome,” Goodstein said in the release.

Stock photo websites may be more concerning than magazines, according to Goodstein, as they are openly available on the Internet.

“Images depicting sleeping infants in stock photography sites and magazines geared towards women of childbearing age are routinely inconsistent with AAP recommendations,” the researchers wrote. “These findings are consistent with our 2009 survey of magazines, suggesting a persistent lack of awareness of safe sleep guidelines amongst advertisers. Messages in the media that are inconsistent with health care messages create confusion and misinformation about infant sleep safety and may lead inadvertently to unsafe practices.” – by Amanda Oldt

Reference:

Goodstein MH, et al. Abstract #1365.6. Presented at: Pediatric Academic Societies 2015; April 25-28, 2015; San Diego.

Disclosure: Infectious Diseases in Children was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.