Infants are also at a greater risk because of their inability to lift their heads or extricate themselves from tight places. Of these children, nearly 80 percent were ages 4 and under. The majority of childhood suffocations, strangulations and choking occur in the home.
Children are more likely to suffocate during the summer months and choke during the winter months.
Sixty percent of infant suffocation occurs in the sleeping environment. Infants can suffocate when their faces become wedged against or buried in a mattress, pillow, infant cushion or other soft bedding, or when someone in the same bed rolls onto them. Each year cribs are involved in more than 70 percent of all nursery product-related deaths among infants. Cribs are responsible for about 40 strangulation and suffocation deaths each year. Children are at risk from choking on small, round foods such as hot dogs, candies, nuts, grapes, carrots and popcorn.