Induction of labor and risk of Sudden infant death syndrome

Objective: To investigate whether induction of labor is related to the occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) using a population-based, case-control study. Methods: Cases comprised infants born between 1984-1988 in Washington state who died of SIDS according to their death certificate (ICD-9-CM 798.0) (N=728). For comparison, we randomly selected a group of infants born in these same years who did not die of SIDS (N=3021), Information regarding the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and condition of the newborn was obtained from the infants' birth certificates. Results: Among the indications for induction that were examined, we found a slightly elevated risk of SIDS associated with advanced gestational age (greater than 41 completed menstrual weeks) (odds ratio [OR] 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-1.8)