A new SIDS warning - parents shouldn't nap with infants on sofas or in armchairs. A study found that one-quarter of all SIDS deaths in England occurred in babies who slept this way.
"Although the reasons for the rise in deaths when parents sleep with their infants on a sofa are unclear, we strongly recommend that parents avoid this sleeping environment," said Peter Fleming of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.
According to the Foundation, other factors that increase the risk of SIDS (called cot deaths in England) are being a male, prematurity and low birth weight, sleeping on side or stomach, being born to "deprived" families, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and exposure to secondary smoke after birth.
Lancet, 1/28/06
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