skip banner - Return to original view
site viewing options
 
Parents|Medical Information|Professionals|In your area|Campaigns

Cot Death

What are the causes?

No one knows yet why these babies die. Researchers think there are likely to be a number of different causes, or that a combination of factors affect a baby at a vulnerable stage of development.

Research has shown that certain babies are more at risk, namely boys, premature and low birth-weight babies. The vast majority of cot death happens to babies aged under six months and there is a peak occurrence at two to three months. Cot death can happen to any family but it is more likely to happen in families living in difficult circumstances.

Since the introduction of the Reduce the Risk of Cot Death campaign in 1991 the numbers of babies dying has fallen by around seventy per cent. However, cot death still claims the lives of seven babies every week in the UK.

To reduce the risk of cot death:

  • Place your baby on the back to sleep;
  • Cut smoking in pregnancy -­ fathers too!;
  • Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby;
  • Keep your baby's head uncovered ­ place your baby with feet to the foot of the cot to prevent wriggling down under the covers;
  • If your baby is unwell seek medical advice promptly;
  • Parents should not sleep with their baby in their bed if either partner: is a smoker, even if they never smoked in bed or in their home; has been drinking alcohol; takes medication or drugs that make them drowsy; feels very tired.
  • Bed sharing should be avoided if a baby was born prematurely, with a low birth weight or has a high temperature.

The safest place for a baby to sleep is in a cot in the parents' bedroom for the first six months.

View Background Background  |  Inheritance patterns and prenatal diagnosis View Inheritance patterns and prenatal diagnosis

Medical text written April 2000 by Dr Sarah Levine, Medical Adviser to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death, London, UK. Last updated October 2005 by Professor Peter Fleming, Professor of Infant Health and Developmental Physiology, Institute of Child Health, Bristol, UK and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death, London, UK.

 

Tell us what you think of this information...

Print whole article Print whole article

 

This Web Site © Copyright, Contact a Family 2010
Contact a Family, 209-211 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
Tel: 020 7608 8700

Registered Charity No. 284912. Charity registered in Scotland No. SC039169
Company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 1633333.
HM Revenue & Customs charity tax reference No. XN54769. VAT Reg. No. GB 749 3846 82

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.