Smoking and cot deaths

[watervole]

Now that the campaign to lay babies on the backs to sleep has had many successful years behind it (and has greatly reduced cot deaths) another clear factor has emerged: smoking.  Mothers who smoke during pregnancy now account for the majority of cot deaths.

Comments

[sugoll.livejournal.com]

Bob Cringely has been working on a cheap and effective heart monitor to counter SIDS for a few years now. As a geek, he figured that was the best way to deal with his first son dying on his lap.

[camies.livejournal.com]

And drinking during pregnancy causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. But does the knowledge of this link stop expectant mothers doing it? Clear and present danger is one thing, getting the message across is another.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Well, the good news is that the number of women smoking during pregnancy does seem to be falling over time.

And some messages do get across. I gave up alcohol totally when I was pregnant myself (though I never was a heavy drinker to start with).

[quasi-hayley.livejournal.com]

Scarlett's always slept on her front from being tiny (and she had a dummy, the midwives hated me), although these days she tends to sprawl all over the place. The figures for cot death in relation to how babies sleep didn't scare me into doing anything differently but I would never, ever smoke whilst pregnant. That's just asking for trouble.