SNOO Bassinets to Promote Sleep Quality and Duration for High-Risk Neonates in Low Resource Settings

Promote safe sleep practices for at-risk infants in Wisconsin

Full Project Name:SNOO Bassinets to Promote Sleep Quality and Duration for High-Risk Neonates in Low Resource SettingsPrincipal Investigator:Girija Konduri, MD, PediatricsCo-Investigator(s):Carey Ehlert, MD, Pediatrics
Mike Hokenson, MD, Pediatrics
Amy Pan, MD, PhD, PediatricsAward Amount:$161,000

Award Date

July2025

Project Duration:24 months

Project Summary:

Many high-risk newborn infants in Wisconsin experience sleep disruption during early postnatal life. Perinatal exposure to opiates, premature birth which leads to medical interventions and prolonged stay in the NICU, and perinatal brain injury are common causes of sleep disruption. These conditions disproportionately affect infants in resource challenged families. Infants in low-income families are 2.5 times more likely to face such challenges after birth and are twice as likely to experience sudden unexpected infant death (SUID). Despite extensive education, SUID still leads to death of more than one infant per week in Wisconsin. Low-income families often lack resources to provide safe sleep area in a bassinet for the infants.

This project investigates the potential benefit of providing smart sleeper bassinets (SNOO) to these families to enhance sleep quality and duration and provide safe sleep environment for the infants, addressing an important goal to promote maternal-child health in Wisconsin.

The research team will leverage the experience gained from a pilot community project they conducted to identify infants at risk for sleep disruption being discharged home to under-resourced families from nine hospital nurseries in southeast and northeast Wisconsin. In this project, researchers aim to provide 275 such families SNOO bassinets that automatically respond to an infant arousing from sleep to increase the comforting measures. The bassinets promote recommended safe sleep position consisting of placing the infant on the back and preventing rollover by having the infant in a snuggle, potentially preventing SUID.

The team will collect data prospectively on sleep quality and duration and the number of arousals and SUID for the enrolled infants. They will also assess the impact of SNOO comfort measures on healthcare resource utilization, maternal anxiety, and stress. These prospective data will provide evidence for larger community projects to foster maternal and child health through this intervention in Wisconsin.