Children’s National Medical Center researchers Dr. Rachel Moon and Brandi Joyner looked at pictures of sleeping babies in 28 magazines popular with women of childbearing age and found that, of the 391 unique images analyzed (230 of which were in advertisements), 122 showed sleeping babies and 99 showed infant sleeping environments (but not the infants themselves).
More than a third of the sleeping babies were shown in improper sleeping positions (side and prone) that violate American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations and increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Furthermore, two-thirds of the photographs portraying sleeping environments showed loose bedding and other objects and locations that violate the safety recommendations and, the report says, increase the risk of SIDS fivefold. In general, advertisements were more likely to include guideline-violating images than their editorial counterparts.
