 News
21st May 2006
Coroner warns parents about baby deaths
A coroner has warned that more than 300 babies may be dying
each year in England and Wales after sharing a bed or sofa with their
parents.
Roger Whittaker, who covers Bradford Calderdale and Kirklees,
says he has seen 12 accidental smothering cases in the past two years
and believes this must be happening across the country.
He is calling on midwives to change their stance of telling
mothers of both the advantages and risks of bed-sharing.
Mr Whittaker reports that his fellow coroners in West Yorkshire
and North Lincolnshire have seen similar numbers of deaths, prompting
his estimates of 300.
He said, "That's far too many. One is far too many in what
I consider to be a totally avoidable situation.
"These children had nothing else wrong with them. They had
everything before them and should have fulfilled their potential."
The Department of Health advises the safest way for babies
to sleep is in a cot in the same room as the mother and altered one of
its leaflets to highlight the risks of bed-sharing.
The leaflet, published in November 2005, states, "The safest
place for your baby to sleep is in a cot in your room for the first six
months.
"While it's lovely to have your baby with you for a cuddle
or a feed, it's safest to put your baby back in their cot before you go
to sleep."
It goes on, "There is also a risk that you might roll over
in your sleep and suffocate your baby, or that your baby could get caught
between the wall and the bed, or could roll out of an adult bed and be
injured.
"Never sleep with a baby on a sofa or armchair."
Mr Whittaker believes midwives need to change their guidance
and make it clear that parents should not share a bed with babies.
But Melanie Every, a regional manager for the Royal College
of Midwives, told BBC Radio Five Live bed-sharing had some benefits for
breast-feeding mothers and their children, and trying to prevent it could
be counter-productive.
"We know that there are many, many cultures and many, many
women who will continue to share beds with their babies, even when they
are advised not to do it," she said.
"Now, knowing that, it's important to give them advice on
the safest possible way of doing it, rather than just saying, don't do
it."
Health visitor Deborah Steele says, "It is a fact that
babies often do settle much more easily if they are in close physical
contact with their mothers."
"Babies who share a bed with parents to settle and
are later placed back in their beds do not seem to be at any increased
risk of cot death."
Where to next?
|
