Bristol cot death research warns of co-sleeping dangers

More than half of cot death cases happen while a baby is sharing a bed or sofa with a parent, according to Bristol researchers.

The Bristol University study, published on the BMJ website today, suggests that sudden unexplained infant deaths may be related to parents drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

The rate of cot death in the UK has fallen dramatically since the early 1990s, but researchers believe that advice about co-sleeping arrangements is needed to help reduce deaths even further.

Much has been learnt about risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome but it is unknown which have been taken on board by different social and cultural groups.

Researchers from Bristol and Warwick studied all unexpected infant deaths from birth to two years in the South West from January 2003 to December 2006 to investigate a possible link between cot death and deprivation.

They compared deaths within a control group deemed to be at high risk of sudden infant death – young, socially deprived mothers who smoked – as well as a randomly selected group.

Of 80 deaths, more than half (54 per cent) occurred while co-sleeping and much of the risk (31 per cent) was explained by the combination of parental alcohol or drug use before sleeping alongside the baby.

Researchers found that risk factors applied to all sections of the community not just the socially deprived.

The report's authors said: "Parents need to be advised to never put themselves in a situation where they might fall asleep with a young infant on a sofa. They also need to be reminded that they should never co-sleep with an infant if they have been drinking or taking drugs."