Sleeping position and health status of children at six-, eighteen- and thirty-six-month development

Using structural equation modeling to investigate the multiple pathways of sleeping position and children's early development at six-, eighteen- and thirty-six-month children, with parental demographics and child health status controlled. The participants consisted of 1783 six-month children, who were assessed using the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study Instrument. After follow-up, 1620 eighteen-month and 1630 thirty-six-month children participated in the second and third assessments, respectively. With potential confounding factors controlled, children at six-month of mothers with a lower level of education tended to sleep supine (β= -0.08, p= 0.001). Compared to those sleeping in the prone and side positions, infants in the supine had slower gross and fine motor development (β= -0.11, p< .001; β= -0.12, p= 0.030); however, the effect of sleeping position on the children's development dissipated at eighteen- and thirty-six-month. Sleeping position had effect on children's development at six-month; however, this effect was transient. Instead, chronic illness and maternal level of education had a more persistent effect on children's development.