Borough Life Autum 2006: Sleep like a baby
All set for a safe, sound night's sleep.IT has to be every new parent’s worst nightmare. The spectre of sudden unexplained infant death, or cot death, is one that sadly haunts our borough like any other.
And while experts have been unable to pinpoint a single cause, they say there’s plenty every parent can do to protect their child. Wigan’s Safeguarding Children Board is a new body devoted to the protection of children and young people in our borough.
Board member Dr Paul Turner is the borough’s consultant in public health. He says: “Our aim is to minimise the risk of cot death. We want every parent to learn through the experiences of others and ensure their baby has a healthy and happy start to life.”
Dr Turner says the critical things parents can do are:
- Place your baby on its back to sleep (in a cot beside the bed for the first six months);
- Cut out smoking in pregnancy and DON’T let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby;
- Do not let your baby get too hot in his or her cot;
- Keep your baby’s head uncovered in the cot and place your baby so his or her feet are at the foot of the cot (to prevent wriggling under the covers);
- NEVER share your bed with your baby if you’ve been drinking alcohol, taken drugs or medication that makes you drowsy or if you are smokers. There is a risk that you might roll over in your sleep and suffocate your baby, or that your baby could get caught between the wall and the bed;
- Bedsharing can be dangerous but sleeping with your baby on the sofa can also have serious risks. NEVER sleep with a baby in a sofa or armchair.
The Safeguarding Children Board’s chair is Wigan Council’s deputy director of children and young people’s services, Gerald Meehan.
He says: “This may seem common sense but we’ve seen an increase in the number of cases of cot death locally and we want to do everything possible to help parents.”
The Department of Health produces An Easy Guide – Reduce The Risk Of Cot Death, which can be viewed via its website www.doh.gov.uk
You can also contact the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death’s Helpline on 020 7233 2090 or speak to your health visitor.
The borough’s stop smoking service can be contacted on 0800 073 0638.