Nurses' Perspectives of Safe Sleep Education in the Prenatal Appointment: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Abstract

Approximately 20,000 infants die in the United States before their first birthday. Sleep-related deaths occurring in infants during the first year of life are a significant contributor to infant mortality rates in the United States with approximately 3,700 occurring each year. These deaths are associated with noteworthy racial disparities differences with SUID rates twice as high for non-Hispanic Black/African American than non-Hispanic White infants. Unsafe sleep practices, such as unsafe location, position, and bedding, contribute to sleep-related deaths in infants and are modifiable. Safe sleep education (SSE) in the prenatal environment allows for early access to safe sleep guidelines with further reinforcement of the teachings in the continuum of care. The qualitative descriptive study used interviews with prenatal nurses to describe their perspectives on integrating SSE into prenatal clinic visits. From these interviews, six categories emerged: current state of teaching SSE, facilitators and barriers to teaching SSE, nurses’ attitudes about SSE, nurses’ knowledge of safe sleep guidelines, nurses’ comfort level providing SSE, and best practice/recommendations for SSE, including tailored education to account for patient individual differences. These categories provide new information concerning safe sleep education in the prenatal environment. The information provides new avenues for intervention development to address the lack of sleep education in all prenatal patients, but especially in underrepresented groups, closing one area of health disparities regarding safe sleep. Additionally, the categories highlight the importance of policy and funding mechanisms to support these future interventions. The overarching goal is to decrease the infant mortality rate through safe sleep education introduced early in routine prenatal appointments and continued through the continuum of care.