Small Australian study suggests link to modifiable maternal habit
Jump to full article: HealthDay [HealthScout], 2009-04-01
Intro: Smoking by mothers has replaced infants sleeping on their stomachs as the greatest modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, Australian researchers suggest.
They found that when mothers smoke, the sleep arousal process of infants, which awakens them in response to a life-threatening situation, is altered, increasing the risk for SIDS.
The study included 12 healthy, full-term infants born to mothers who smoked an average of 15 cigarettes a day. . . .
"Our study suggests that maternal smoking can impair the arousal pathways of seemingly normal infants, which may explain their increased risk for SIDS," Horne said in a news release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
The study is in the April 1 issue of the journal Sleep.
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