Baby Cot Deaths or Crib Deaths

There have been recent reports from the United Kingdom, ‘Office of National Statistics’ that the rate of Cot Deaths in the population has fallen dramatically, by something like 15% which is coming down from the rate of 0.48 deaths in 1000 births,  to 0.41 deaths in 1000 births.

The figures produced also show that in the recorded period, between 2001 and 2005, boys accounted for 58% of fatalities, despite making only 51% of the live births.

In 2005 the highest cot death rate is found in babies born outside of marriage and registered by the mother only. This group’s rate was 1.2 per 1000 births, almost six times higher than the rate of babies born within a ‘married’, family. This makes such children ‘at risk’ and they should be given whatever safety precautions described as necessary, that should be taken.

Between 2001 and 2005, 63% of all such unexplained deaths, know as ‘cot death’ or ‘crib death’, occurred in babies aged less than three months of age. For babies born within Marriage, the unexplained infant death rate increased with the number of previous births.

The rate, in 2005 for babies with two or more previous births, was 0.34 per 1000 live births, was three times the rate of babies  born to mothers who had no previous births.

Falling Baby Cot Death Rate.

The current  trend  is for a falling cot death rate and the reasons for this is though to be partly due to better publicity regarding advice on minimumising the risk, and actions that parents can take to help stop infant cot death, this very frightening problem. This is all part of a continuing trend, ‘baby cot death’ or ‘baby crib death’, numbers in the UK, have fallen from 377 in the year 2001 to 300 in the year 2005. However there has been no fall in the total or infant post neonatal infant mortality rate.

This would suggest that better investigation is defining the cause of death in more babies.
Dr Richard Wilson the paediatrician and trustee of the ‘Foundation for the Study of Infant Death’, said that more research was needed in the causes of ‘cot death’. He said that each year 300 apparently healthy babies die, suddenly and unexpectedly, in the United Kingdom. If the same number of people were involved annually, for example a fatal train crash, there would be outrage and investigations.

Research has revealed some of the ways to reduce the risk of cot death, but the cause of many of these tragedies remain unknown. Bereaved parents ask us the all-consuming question of “why did he die?” and they deserve an answer!

How to reduce the risk.

Recommended Actions that Parents should take!

• Cut out smoking during pregnancy.
• Fathers should also quit smoking at this time.
• Don’t let anybody smoke in the same room as your baby.
• Place your baby on its back to sleep.
• Do not let your baby get too hot.
• Keep your baby’s head uncovered.
• Place your baby with its feet to the foot of the cot or crib.
• Preferably sleep your baby in a cot or crib in your bedroom, for the first six months of life.
• Do not sleep with a baby on a sofa, armchair or settee
• If your baby is at all unwell, seek medical advice, promptly.

Fatalities in Babies caused by ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’, sometimes known as ‘cot death’ in the UK and ‘crib death’ in the USA, is a very real concern for all parents but parents should not loose sight of the relatively few numbers unfortunately affected by this tragic condition.
By taking very great care and by bearing in mind the precautions previously outlined, parents can further reduce these statistics to a more reasonable level, although no baby death could ever be called at ‘a reasonable level’!

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