In a change in policy, the nation's largest group of pediatricians recommended that babies be put to bed on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

The 53,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics, which made the recommendation Tuesday, previously recommended that babies sleep face-up or on their side. But infants who sleep on their side can roll over onto their stomach, thereby increasing the risk of SIDS.Babies who sleep face-up are less likely to suffer SIDS than those who sleep on their sides. And both positions are far safer than sleeping face-down.

In 1994, doctors and health officials began warning parents against letting children sleep on their stomach. The campaign has been credited with saving 1,500 babies a year.

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Before the campaign started, there were 5,000 to 6,000 American SIDS deaths annually among babies ages 1 month to a year.

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