Four FREE health reports for you

Register now for our vital and insightful health updates, and get four free health reports to help you live more healthily.

email to friend Printer friendly

News

Cot death: 'back to sleep' works

01 February 1995

Scientists continue to argue over the cause of cot death, or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but one thing's clear the "back to sleep" campaign is really working.

Cot deaths in Britain are now below those in China and Japan since the British authorities introduced the campaign, which encourages parents to put babies on their backs to sleep.

The policy has finally been adopted in America where SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants up to one year of age, claiming up to 6,000 lives a year.

But the findings of a recent British television programme, The Cook Report, that toxic fumes from fire retardants in mattresses poisoned the babies, have been treated sceptically by scientists. They point out that several characteristics of SIDS that the infant is usually aged between two and four months, that most deaths occur in the winter, and that the parents tend to be smokers are not answered by the theory.

Nonetheless, the UK's chief medical officer Dr Kenneth Calman has set up an enquiry to look into the programme's claims, even though he described them as "limited, inadequate and flawed".

Heavy smoking link to cot deaths - Smoking by the mother during and after pregnancy increases the risk of cot death or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Research on SIDS deaths in So...

Cot death: - Is geopathic stress the secret killer? - Cot death or SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) has been blamed on mothers, on hot bedrooms, on the baby's sleeping position, on the blankets, and on...

Put babies back with parents - In a medical volte face, pediatricians in New Zealand are now saying that you can reduce the risk of your child dying from cot death or sudden infant...

Bed sharing: no risk of sids - Infants who sleep in the same bed as their parents are no more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than those who sleep alone in a...

Company for life - Cot death rates in England and Wales are going down. In Avon, which used to report one of the highest levels of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in...

New sids link: lack of iodine - Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may be caused by the mother's lack of iodine, a Canadian professor has hypothesized. This lack, which may be exace...

Sids and co-factors - Sleeping position alone may not be a major factor in cot death, or sudden infant death syndrome. ...

Cot death - More than one death is not so unusual - The legal and medical systems have been a little like Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell when it comes to cot deaths - one is unfortunate, but two or more i...

The British Institute for the Identification & Treatment of Allergic Disorders

How You Beat Asthma
How To Beat Your M.E.
How You Beat ADHD
How You Beat Arthritis
How You Beat Backpain
How You Beat Depression How You Beat Pain
How You Beat The Menopause
How You Beat Heart Problems
WDDTY Health Shop

Register for our health updates and free gifts.
First Name:
Email: