Incident characteristics of sleep-related infant deaths by cause of death category
| Characteristic | Total (n=778) | Unexplained* (n=276) | Unintentional asphyxia (n=502) |
| Place of death (n, %) | |||
| Child’s home | 592 (76.1) | 214 (77.5) | 378 (75.3) |
| Friend or relative’s home | 144 (18.5) | 43 (15.6) | 101 (20.1) |
| Other | 42 (5.4) | 19 (6.9) | 23 (4.6) |
| Type of area (n, %) | |||
| Urban | 308 (39.6) | 125 (45.3) | 183 (36.5) |
| Suburban or rural | 322 (41.4) | 98 (35.5) | 224 (44.6) |
| Unknown | 148 (19.0) | 53 (19.2) | 95 (18.9) |
| Sleep location (n, %) | |||
| Crib/bassinet | 132 (17.0) | 56 (20.3) | 76 (15.1) |
| Adult bed | 464 (59.6) | 157 (56.9) | 307 (61.2) |
| Couch/chair | 84 (10.8) | 23 (8.3) | 61 (12.2) |
| Other | 93 (12.0) | 36 (13.0) | 57 (11.4) |
| Unknown | 5 (0.6) | 4 (1.5) | 1 (0.2) |
| Sharing sleep surface (n, %) | |||
| No | 299 (38.4) | 120 (43.5) | 179 (35.7) |
| Yes | 468 (60.2) | 150 (54.4) | 318 (63.4) |
| Unknown | 11 (1.4) | 6 (2.2) | 5 (1.0) |
| Position placed to sleep (n, %) | |||
| On back | 343 (44.1) | 128 (46.4) | 215 (42.8) |
| On side/stomach | 300 (38.6) | 90 (32.6) | 210 (41.8) |
| Unknown | 135 (17.4) | 58 (21.0) | 77 (15.3) |
| Position when found (n, %) | |||
| On back | 160 (20.6) | 66 (23.9) | 94 (18.7) |
| On side/stomach | 464 (59.6) | 151 (54.7) | 313 (62.4) |
| Unknown | 154 (19.8) | 59 (21.4) | 95 (18.9) |
| Airway condition (n, %) | |||
| Unobstructed | 77 (9.9) | 34 (12.3) | 43 (8.6) |
| Fully obstructed | 237 (30.5) | 34 (12.3) | 203 (40.4) |
| Partially obstructed | 70 (9.0) | 33 (12.0) | 37 (7.4) |
| Unknown | 372 (47.8) | 170 (61.6) | 202 (40.2) |
| Missing | 22 (2.8) | 5 (1.8) | 17 (3.4) |
| Death scene investigation (n, %) | |||
| Yes | 677 (87.0) | 227 (82.3) | 450 (89.6) |
| No | 34 (4.4) | 14 (5.1) | 20 (4.0) |
| Unknown | 43 (5.5) | 23 (8.3) | 20 (4.0) |
| Missing | 24 (3.1) | 12 (4.4) | 12 (2.4) |
| Year of death (n, %) | |||
| 2014 | 151 (19.4) | 61 (22.1) | 90 (17.9) |
| 2015 | 153 (19.7) | 59 (21.4) | 94 (18.7) |
| 2016 | 155 (19.9) | 58 (21.0) | 97 (19.3) |
| 2017 | 175 (22.5) | 45 (16.3) | 130 (25.9) |
| 2018 | 144 (18.5) | 53 (19.2) | 91 (18.1) |
*Includes cases with undetermined, unknown, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) as the underlying cause documented on the death certificate.