Avoiding tobacco smoke protects babies from cot death
Publication Date:17/10/2007
Not smoking while pregnant, and protecting babies from tobacco smoke, can dramatically cut the risk of babies dying from cot death, researchers say. They say smoking near pregnant women and babies should be seen as unacceptable and dangerous.
What do we know already?
Cot death, also called sudden infant death syndrome, is when a baby dies suddenly with no obvious medical explanation. The number of cot deaths has fallen by three-quarters since 1991, when parents were warned to put babies to sleep on their backs, not their fronts. In 2005, there was less than one cot death for every 3,000 babies born in England and Wales. But the numbers don't seem to be falling any further.
Researchers know that certain things can increase the risk of a baby dying from cot death. These things include:
- Being put to sleep lying face-down
- Having a mother who smokes, during pregnancy or after
- Having another family member who smokes
- Sharing a bed
- Not being breastfed.
About 2 in 10 women smoke during pregnancy, down from 3 in 10, 15 years ago. Younger women and those from poorer backgrounds are more likely to smoke while pregnant.
What does the new study say?
The new study looks at lots of research about the links between smoking and cot death. The researchers say that, in more than 8 in 10 cases, the mothers of babies who died from cot death smoked during pregnancy. Smoking in pregnancy means babies have four times the risk of dying from cot death.
Tell me more about the study's findings
Being put to sleep lying face-down used to be the biggest risk for cot death. But since 1991, when parents were warned of this danger, the number of babies dying from cot death has fallen significantly. Smoking in pregnancy has now become the biggest risk we know of for cot death.
The researchers looked to see if anything else could have accounted for the increased risk. For example, women who smoked in pregnancy might also eat a poor diet, or live in overcrowded houses where they were more likely to share a bed with their baby. But even after taking account of these things, the researchers said tobacco smoke was likely to be responsible for most of the increased risk of cot death.
The study found that:
- The more cigarettes that the mothers smoked during pregnancy, the more likely their babies were to die from cot death
- After the baby was born, smoking by the mother, or other people living in the same house, also increased the risk of cot death
- The more people living in the house who smoked, and the more time the baby was exposed to smoke, the greater the risk of cot death.
The researchers also looked at studies to see if they could explain why cigarette smoke increases the risk of cot death. They found studies showing that babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy may have less-developed lungs, be less able to wake up if they stopped breathing, and be more likely to get viral infections like coughs and colds. All of these things could increase the risk of a cot death.
Where does the study come from?
The study was carried out by two doctors at the Institute of Child Life and Health, at the University of Bristol. The institute is the leading UK centre for research into cot death. It will be published in a medical journal called Early Human Development, owned by a publishing company called Elsevier.
How reliable are the findings?
The study is a review of the evidence about cot death, including all the figures collected over the past 25 years. The researchers examined the evidence to see what conclusions they could draw about how smoking affects the risk of cot death. But it's possible they didn't include all of the research about cot death. We don't know how they decided which studies to look at.
What does this mean for me?
If you've lost a baby through cot death in the past, you'll know how devastating it can be. And you'll want to do all you can to be sure it doesn't happen again.
It's important to remember that cot death is quite rare. And there are things you can do to reduce the risk still further. Stopping smoking before you get pregnant can cut the risk of cot death four-fold.
Even if you smoked during your pregnancy, you can reduce the risk to your baby now by keeping your baby safe from smoke. Don't smoke yourself, and don't let anyone else smoke in the same room as your baby.
Whether you smoke or not, these things are also recommended to help protect your baby from cot death:
- Put your baby to bed sleeping on their back
- Don't sleep in the same bed as your baby, especially if you or your partner smokes. And avoid falling asleep while holding your baby, in an armchair or on a sofa
- Avoid over-heating your baby with lots of blankets or clothes
- Avoid soft sleeping surfaces, like sheepskins or quilts. Babies should sleep on firm mattresses
- Breastfeed your baby
- Settle your baby to sleep with a dummy.
What should I do now?
It's not easy to give up smoking, and you may need to try several times before you succeed. But there's lots of help available, especially if you're pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Ask your GP surgery for information, or call the NHS Quitline on 0800 169 0169. There are many treatments you can try that can help you to quit successfully. Doctors believe it's safer for pregnant women to use nicotine replacement therapy, like nicotine gum or patches, than to continue smoking.
From:
Fleming P, Blair PS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and parental smoking. Early Human Development. Published online 18 September 2007.
To find out more, see our information on cot death. If you smoke, you can read our information on smoking to find out how best to quit.
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© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.
