Cot Death - Links to Smoking

A Bristol University research team has found that a staggering 9 out of 10 mothers who lose a baby through cot death smoked during pregnancy.

Whilst cot death numbers are falling, the proportion linked to smoking is rising. The fall in the overall number of cot deaths is widely believed to be due to the fact that parents now lay babies on their backs to sleep.

Professor George Haycock, from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths said: "The figures show that maternal smoking is now the most important avoidable risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). If no women smoked in pregnancy, about 60% of cot deaths could be avoided. This means that in the UK the number of deaths could fall from around 300 a year to 120 a year."

Professor Fleming the lead Author from the University's Institute of Child Life and Health said they had found a direct link between the amount of smoke a baby was exposed to and the risk of cot death. Professor Fleming went on to say "We found a perfectly linear relationship, the risk of death increased with each individual hour the baby was exposed to smoke. For example a baby exposed to smoke eight hours a day was eight times more likely to die from SIDS than a baby that was never exposed. These are startling statistics. What it is saying to parents as a positive message is 'even if you can't give up smoking, don't smoke around the baby'."

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