Unsafe sleep practices present in hundreds of infant deaths in Canada, CBC investigation finds

Safe Sleep is an investigative series examining what risk factors were present in more than 1,300 incidents of infant death over an 11-year span in Canada.

Early one morning in 2018 inside a home in British Columbia, a fussing baby was placed to sleep on their stomach on the chest of a family member.

The relative, who was lying on a couch, fell asleep, too. When they awoke, the one-month-old was unresponsive and not breathing.

It's a tragic scenario that's occurred for multiple families across Canada, as detailed in records obtained as part of a CBC News investigation into infant deaths during sleep, which found at least 1,338 infants died with unsafe sleep risk factors present between 2009 and the end of 2019.

The infant in B.C. died a natural death from pneumonia, according to a coroner's report, but bed sharing with the relative on a couch was listed as a contributing factor.

"Perinatal [Services] BC recommends that a baby be placed to sleep alone on a firm mattress such as a crib, cradle or bassinet," the report says.

"A safe sleep surface reduces the risk of suffocation which can be increased in infants with compromised breathing due to a respiratory infection."

When the infant was born a month earlier, the family asked the province for help "as an appropriate sleep surface was not available" for the baby. A crib was provided, but it hadn't been set up at the time of the baby's death. 

Some experts who talked to CBC say such societal inequities and systemic issues must be addressed, and that safe sleep should be a higher priority both federally and provincially. They include Dr. Ian Mitchell, a pediatric respirologist at Alberta Children's Hospital.

"This is not a new problem," said Mitchell, who also teaches at the University of Calgary.

"Every death of a child is a tragedy. These are, as far as we can tell, otherwise healthy children who would be productive citizens of our society and contribute to society."

Health Canada's infant safe sleep guidelines spell out actions and environments that can put an infant at higher risk of death. Risk factors include a baby being placed to sleep in a position that increases the risk of suffocation or asphyxiation, such as on their stomach instead of their back.

It also includes infants sleeping on a surface that can contribute to suffocation, such as a soft mattress or pillows or a surface cluttered with items, or sharing a sleep space with an adult or another infant.

Bed sharing puts the baby at risk of suffocation and other hazards, according to the federal health agency.