To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), infants should be placed in which position for sleep?

Placing infants in the supine position, which means lying on their backs, is a well-established recommendation to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Research has demonstrated that putting infants to sleep on their backs significantly lowers the incidence of SIDS compared to other sleeping positions.

This position helps keep the airway clear and ensures that the baby can breathe freely during sleep, thus minimizing the likelihood of incidents that can lead to SIDS. Guidelines from organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly endorse the supine position as the safest for infant sleep.

While other positions like prone (on the stomach) and side-lying may be mentioned in different contexts, they do not offer the same level of safety as the supine position with respect to SIDS prevention. The prone position can cause the baby to have a higher risk of rebreathing carbon dioxide and reduced stimulation upon waking. The side-lying position is also not recommended due to the risk of the infant rolling onto the stomach. Therefore, the supine position is the optimal choice for reducing the risk of SIDS.