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Smoking, temperature boost crib-death risk: study 

Mothers who smoke while pregnant increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, according to new research from the University of Calgary.

And overheating babies - whether it's from over-wrapping them at night or increasing their room temperature above 20C - also raises the risk of crib death, according to the research.

"For a long time, the knowledge of smoking being a risk factor has been there, as well as putting the baby face-down or overheating," says George Dalekos, chairman of the SIDS Calgary Society. "There's never been any scientific data that actually support that so, for me, this is exciting stuff."

Shabih Hasan, a professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary's faculty of medicine, led the research, which is the first animal study to examine the effects of cigarette smoke rather than nicotine.

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New research shows overheating newborns can increase the risk of SIDS 

New research at the University of Calgary shows that smoking while pregnant, as well as thermal stress, can lead to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Increased ambient temperature such as over-wrapping a baby at night time or increasing the room temperature can affect the baby's pattern of breathing.

Other known contributing factors to SIDS include babies sleeping in a belly-down position and exposure to cigarette smoke. Combining any of these factors with thermal stress may put babies at greater risk.

"Addressing these risk factors through tobacco reduction programs as well as better infant care practices could potentially decrease the incidence of SIDS," says Dr. Shabih Hasan, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine who led the study.

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• Smoking during pregnancy increases risk of SIDS 

A new study provides the most direct evidence that there exists a causal link between smoking during pregnancy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Clinicians have long considered prenatal cigarette smoke exposure a major contributing risk factor for SIDS, but researchers had not proved a casual relationship. Other contributing factors include disturbances of breathing and heart rate regulation and impaired arousal responses, thermal stress (primarily overheating from too high temperatures or too much clothing) and sleeping in the prone (belly-down) position.

"Since the advocacy of 'back to sleep position,' smoking during pregnancy has become the principal risk factor for SIDS," said Dr. Shabih Hasan, staff neonatologist and associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, and the principal investigator of the new study, which appears in the first issue for June of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.

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WHITE: Americans must finally kick tobacco habit 

This is a great country, but we're not perfect, and tobacco is a prime example of many of our flaws.

In order for us to produce tobacco, many American Indians lost their lands and their lives, many Africans lost their freedom and their heritage, and the land itself was overused until much of it could no longer support agriculture. . . .

Since starting my training more than 30 years ago, I have participated in the care of more than 10,000 critically ill infants. Many of those kids were born early or ill because of maternal tobacco use; some died, and hundreds more lived with permanent disabilities linked to exposure to tobacco. . . .

Proposed legislation in Indiana and other state legislatures could help, but more needs to be done. It is wrong for our health care institutions to hold investments in tobacco companies. It is wrong for 401K and other self-directed investments to have no options available to individuals who would like to place their money into a tobacco-free fund, or more generally, into socially responsible investing. Our government should help -- it was complicit in many of the tobacco industry's misdeeds for more than 200 years, so there is still a lot of work to be done to replace that history with one that protects the innocents and our land.

As a society, it is time for us to kick this ugly, dirty and addictive scourge. Otherwise, aren't we as guilty as our forefathers in passing it on as an inheritance to our children?

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Researchers Gain New Insights Into SIDS  

While new research suggests that putting a baby to sleep with a pacifier may reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, putting your baby to sleep on his or her back and not exposing the baby to smoke before or after birth are the two most important steps parents can take to reduce the risk of SIDS, according to child care experts.

"We can't guarantee that we can prevent SIDS deaths, but we can reduce the risk as best as possible," explained Dr. Fern Hauck, an associate professor of family medicine and public health sciences at the University of Virginia Health System.

About 2,250 American babies still succumb to SIDS each year

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Autopsy Finds Nicotine in 11-Month-Old's Remains 

Spring Lake, N.C. -- An 11-month-old girl whose remains were found in her mother's attic last fall had nicotine in her system, according to a recently released toxicology report.

Authorities found the body of Harmony Jade Creech on Oct. 20 in the attic of the home her mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, was renting in Spring Lake. The baby had been wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed in an empty diaper box in a corner of the attic, authorities said. . . .

Heuser, 25, of 1680 Ray Road in Spring Lake, has been charged with first-degree murder in the case. She told investigators that she found the baby dead in her crib weeks earlier and hid the death out of fear.

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Smoking And Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, UK 

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) welcomes the research (1) from the FSID Research Unit at Bristol University.

Professor George Haycock, FSID's scientific adviser says: "The figures show that maternal smoking is now the most important avoidable risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

"If no women smoked in pregnancy, about 60 per cent of cot deaths could be avoided. This means that in the UK the number of deaths could fall from around 300 a year to 120 a year."

Cot death is still the biggest killer of babies over one month old in the UK today, claiming more lives than road traffic accidents, leukaemia and meningitis put together.

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• Parents told son's death may be linked to their smoking  

The parents of a baby boy who died in his cot have been told by a pathologist that their smoking habits may have been a major factor.

At an inquest at Tameside Coroner's Court, Melanie Newbould, a pathologist, said that she could not be sure why Jake Dunning, seven weeks old, had died but that passive smoking may have played a part.

The evidence follows a study, published this week, that suggests a clear link between passive smoking and cot death. . . .

Jake's mother and father, Ryan Dunning, both in their twenties, were distraught about the findings.

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Report links smoking mothers to cot death 

NINE out of ten mothers who lose a baby to cot death are smokers, a new study has concluded.

The comprehensive study, carried out at Bristol University's Institute of Child Life and Health, reviewed existing evidence from numerous studies on smoking and cot death.

Professor Peter Fleming, the co-author of the report, entitled "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Parental Smoking", said: "What we have been trying to do is look at the whole impact of exposure, both before and after birth, to smoking and its adverse effects."

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Smoking is prime cause of cot death 

Nine out of 10 mothers who have lost children through cot death smoked during pregnancy, a report claims.

Women who smoke when expecting a child are four times more likely to lose it through Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the study says.

The report out this week could hold the key to the mystery of cot death, which has brought heartache to thousands of families.

And it will place pressure on the Government to tighten anti-smoking legislation - perhaps paving the way for a ban on sales of tobacco to pregnant women.

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'Clear smoking link' to cot death 

Almost nine out of ten mothers who lose a baby to cot death smoked while pregnant, say researchers.

The Bristol University team said the risk also increased with every hour babies were exposed to passive smoke after birth.

The number of cot deaths has fallen, but those linked to smoking have risen.

The report, to be published in the journal Early Human Development, suggests public smoking bans will make people more likely to smoke at home.

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'Cigarettes kill cot death tots' 

NINE out of ten mothers who lose a baby to cot death are SMOKERS, claims a new report.

Statistics show smoking in pregnancy has fallen over 15 years. But babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome born to mums on cigs rose from 57 per cent to 86 per cent.

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and parental smoking 

Evidence from the UK suggests the prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy has risen amongst SIDS mothers (from 50% to 80%) when the rate amongst expectant mothers in the general population has fallen (from 30% to 20%) confirming pooled estimates from recent studies of a four-fold risk. An additional risk from postnatal exposure has also been identified; increasing with the number of smokers in the household or the daily hours the infant is subjected to a smoke-filled environment. Exposure may lead to a complex range of effects upon normal physiological and anatomical development in fetal and postnatal life that places infants at greatly increased risk of SIDS. Recent legislation prohibiting smoking in public places needs to emphasise the adverse effects of tobacco smoke exposure to infants and amongst pregnant women.

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October is SIDS awareness month 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (also known as crib death) is defined as the sudden unexpected death of an infant younger than 1 year of age. After a thorough case investigation, including a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the infant's clinical history, the child's death remains unexplained. Sudden infant death is a tragic event for any parent or caregiver. . . .

In North Carolina, there has been an overall decline in the incidence of SIDS, though there was a slight increase in 2005. Many believe the decline is due largely to the increased efforts to educate parents and caregivers about SIDS, the leading cause of death in infants one month to one year of age. . . .

Major risk factors for SIDS include secondhand smoke, bed sharing, poor prenatal care, low birth weight, drug use by the mother while pregnant and prematurity.

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SIDS link to smoking during pregnancy  

New parents should receive stronger warnings about smoking in the wake of a new study showing most mothers who lost babies to cot death smoked during pregnancy.

The scientific study described as one of the most authoritative to date on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome reveals women who smoke during pregnancy are four times more likely than non-smokers to see their child fall victim to cot death.

Nine out of 10 mothers who lost babies to cot death smoked during pregnancy, according to the British study issued this week.

SIDS and Kids ACT chief executive Karen Faichney said babies were more likely to experience cot death if one or both parents smoked, particularly if parents slept with their baby.

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