Cot Death News and Research

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Cot death or crib death is sudden and unexpected death of a baby within 1 year of age. In most cases the reasons for death after a post-mortem examination remain unexplained and the death may be registered as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sudden infant death, or sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUID).

Baby Angels Foundation established to support bereaved parents in Minnesota and western Wisconsin

The death of a child is one of the most painful losses a family can experience, and when it happens unexpectedly it can leave them feeling confused and helpless. To help families cope immediately and long after this tragic event, Becca Peden and Serena Gragert have established the Baby Angels Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at raising awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and funding much-needed resources for bereaved parents in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

26 Feb 2010

Approval of smoke-free legislation: Huge step forward to protect workers and public from secondhand smoke

The Kansas Legislature today delivered a historic victory for health and the public's right to breathe clean air by passing legislation to make almost all workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, smoke-free.

26 Feb 2010

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be the third leading cause of infant death, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite a decline in SIDS that is associated with a rise in safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. A new study by Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has identified that more than 96 percent of infants who died of SIDS were exposed to known risk factors, among them sleeping on their side or stomach, or exposure to tobacco smoke, and that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple risk factors.

16 Feb 2010

Plagiocephaly babies need to be screened and monitored early in life for possible cognitive, motor delays

In a new study, infants averaging six months of age who exhibited positional plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) had lower scores than typical infants in observational tests used to evaluate cognitive and motor development. Positional or deformational plagiocephaly may occur when external forces shape an infant's skull while it is still soft and malleable, such as extended time spent lying on a hard surface or in one position. This is the first controlled study to suggest that babies who have flattened areas on the back of their heads during the first year of life may be at risk for developmental delay.

15 Feb 2010

Sudden infant death syndrome linked to low serotonin levels

Taking the next step in more than 20 years of research, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have linked sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) with low production of serotonin in the brainstem, based on a comparison of brainstem samples from infants dying of SIDS compared to brainstems of infants dying from other, known causes.

4 Feb 2010

Decreased levels in brainstem of serotonin associated with increased risk for SIDS

Preliminary research indicates that decreased levels in the brainstem of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]; a neurotransmitter involved in several brain functions) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2; an enzyme involved in the synthesis of serotonin) are associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a study in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Feb 2010

Vaccination for children: Pros and cons

ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity dedicated to promoting critical thinking, created the new website http://vaccines.procon.org to explore the core question "Should any vaccines be required for children?"

23 Jan 2010

Impact of life style factors on natural and medically assisted reproduction

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has published a position statement on the impact of the life style factors obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption on natural and medically assisted reproduction.

20 Jan 2010

Effects of obesity, smoking and drinking on natural and medically assisted reproduction

19 Jan 2010

Flexpoint to develop infant bed cover using patented Bend Sensor® design

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. announced that they are working on the development of an infant bed cover using their patented Bend Sensor® design. The mattress will be used to monitor infants in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (“SIDS”).

18 Jan 2010

Research suggests common mechanism is associated with different human diseases

Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. Theodore Cummins and colleagues, at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, have now determined the functional consequence of three such mutations.

29 Dec 2009

Researchers to receive more than $4.5 million in grants to study Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) expect to receive more than $4.5 million in grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act.), including nearly $1 million from the highly competitive Challenge Grant program for a study that seeks to reduce the number of children who die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, it was announced today.

15 Dec 2009

Michigan goes smoke-free

The Michigan Legislature today delivered a historic victory for health and the public's right to breathe clean air by passing legislation to make almost all workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, smoke-free. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign the bill, which will make Michigan the 27th state to pass a strong smoke-free law that includes all restaurants and bars.

10 Dec 2009

Baby's sleep position can predict misshapen skull condition

A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly - or the development of flat spots on an infant's head - according to findings reported by Arizona State University scientists in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics.

18 Nov 2009

Breastfeeding: ADA position paper details health benefits for both infants and mothers

The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.

4 Nov 2009

SIDS America launches informative website about SIDS

Less than two years ago, the world came crashing in on Bill and Cheryl Darnell, SIDS America founders, when they went to wake their infant son, Billy, for his morning feeding and found him dead. Billy, who had seemed perfectly healthy just a few hours earlier, had fallen victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the leading cause of death among infants between 1 and 12 months of age in America.

28 Oct 2009

Genetic mutations cause for SIDS and SUDS

Scientists and clinicians at the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cardiogenetics have teamed up and found that genetic mutations leading to Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) could be causing electrical malfunctioning of the heart resulting in the mysterious deaths more commonly known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome (SUDS) in people older than 12 months of age.

27 Oct 2009

Elected officials have no excuse for failing to enact comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws: IOM

A landmark report released today by the Institute of Medicine provides powerful new evidence that elected officials have no excuse for failing to enact comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws. The IOM report concludes smoke-free laws reduce the number of heart attacks and save lives. The report also confirms that there is conclusive scientific evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, including heart attacks, and finds there is compelling evidence that even relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to a heart attack.

19 Oct 2009

Breast milk should not be stored and fed later

The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.

3 Oct 2009

Severe plagiocephaly in babies can lead to ear infections

The recommendation to lay babies on their backs to sleep has reduced sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but has led to an increased number of infants with a skull deformity called deformational (or positional) plagiocephaly. Now new research suggests that infants with more severe plagiocephaly may have a higher rate of middle ear abnormalities associated with ear infections (otitis media), reports the September issue of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

25 Sep 2009