Co-sleeping with your baby can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
Falling asleep with a baby in a bed, on a sofa or in an armchair is “risky”, Government health advisors have said, in new guidance aimed at reducing the number of infants dying from ‘cot death’ each year. Cot death, or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is the unexplained death of an otherwise healthy baby.
The exact causes are unknown, but new draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has taken into account recent studies which have suggested that sharing a bed with a baby might be linked to a higher chance of SIDS.
Under the new guidance, midwives, GPs and health visitors will be expected to tell parents that “co-sleeping” could increase the risk, and that the dangers are likely to be higher if parents smoke or have recently drunk alcohol.
Risks are also higher if parents are drug-takers, or if the baby had a low birth-weight or was premature. However, studies up till now have only been able to show links between these factors and an increased risk – not actual causation.
Source: The Independent
Published: 06 July 2014
Category: Features, Health alert
