Smoking and SIDS

[user1469284065]

Name-changed so I don’t get outed.
My daughter is three months old and I’m feeling a bit paranoid about SIDS. My dad’s little brother died of SIDS and he still doesn’t like to talk about it all these years later. When my own brother was a baby I used to go and check on him if he was asleep in the middle of the day.
However, I spoke to a friend recently who says her GP told her that almost every baby who died of SIDS over the last few years had at least one smoking parent, usually the mother. This would put my mind at rest, as neither my husband nor I smoke. I’ve searched online and the closest confirmation I could find was an article stating that 90% of cot death victims had mothers who smoked while pregnant – but this is from nine years ago. Does anyone know where I can find more up-to-date statistics?

The Lullaby Trust. They used to be Foundation for Sudden Infant Death. They have the latest research and information.

They have support for families with a history of SIDS too. My dh had a sibling and cousin who died, when babies are born in our family we get support.

Thanks very much, Coola. I'll have a look at that.

At my antenatal class (in NZ in 2013) I remember the class teacher saying that in 2011 64 children died of SIDS (again this was New Zealand data) and 63 of those had a smoking parent. Can't remember if it was mostly mothers or fathers smoking but a very convincing statistic!

I'm not sure about smoking statistics but my midwifery mentor told me the back to sleep campaign (placing baby on their back to sleep, putting their feet at the bottom of the cot so they can't wriggle under blankets, not overheating them etc.) has made a massive drop in the rates of SIDS since the 90s.

The angelcare monitor with the movement pad might help with your anxiety. I was surprised at how much it calmed me down when we got ours. The occasional false alarm did scare the bejesus out of me, but it's a very occasional (maybe 4 or 5 times in a year of using it?) short brief shock and a very fast run up the stairs rather than the constant worry.

It doesn't work with a soft-bottomed moses basket, but is perfect once they are in a cot.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.