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18th January 2006 Concerns over rise in infant sofa deaths The number of infants dying after falling asleep with a parent on a sofa has increased four fold. A team of researchers from Bristol's Royal Children's Hospital found that about 30 babies die in the UK a year after sharing a sofa and warned that 'cot death' does not always mean a cot. The study, which is published in The Lancet, parents not to snuggle up with a baby on a settee if they are feeling tired. The research was led by Professor Fleming who said, "Although the reasons for the rise in deaths when a parent sleeps with their infant on a sofa are unclear, we strongly recommend that parents avoid this sleeping environment." The study also found more deaths are occurring among poor families, and among those where the mother smokes. The study looked at how the 'Back to Sleep' education campaign had influenced the factors that contribute to SIDS over the last 20 years. They found that it had helped to slash cot death rates by 75 per cent since 1991 but suggested the appropriate messages had still not got through to many poor young mothers. Professor Fleming added, "Our data clearly show that SIDS is now largely confined to deprived families and if we exclude deaths on sofas, the number of babies dying whilst in bed has fallen by 50 per cent over the past 20 years." The study also found that that the proportion of SIDS deaths among poorer families increased from 47 to 74 per cent. The proportion of deaths in which the mother smoked during pregnancy also rose, from 57 to 86 per cent while breastfed babies fell from 50 per cent to 26 per cent. The researchers are calling for a standard protocol to aid the investigation of cot deaths and to enable as much relevant information to be collected as possible. Joyce Epstein, director of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death, said, "Over 14,000 lives have been saved in the UK since the advice to reduce the risk of cot death was introduced in 1991. "But still over 300 babies every year in the UK are dying as cot deaths - that's more babies over one month old than from any other cause. "The battle against sudden infant death is far from over. "It is absolutely vital that we get our safe infant care messages across more forcefully, especially among the more vulnerable sections of society, and that we continue our lifesaving research into the causes of cot death."
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