Related Experiment Videos
Is there a link between cot death and child abuse?
Insights
Child abuse risk factors do not predict sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). While four factors showed no difference, mothers of SIDS infants sometimes needed feeding support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) shares epidemiological similarities with child abuse.
- Previous research identified five factors predictive of child abuse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if factors predicting child abuse also predict SIDS.
- To compare risk factors between SIDS cases and matched controls.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study comparing 45 infants with SIDS to 134 matched controls.
- Matching criteria included maternal age, social class, parity, and year of birth.
Main Results:
- Four of the five child abuse predictive factors did not distinguish SIDS cases from controls.
- A slight increase was observed in mothers of SIDS infants needing feeding support.
Conclusions:
- Child abuse predictive factors are not predictive of SIDS.
- Feeding support needs may be a subtle indicator in SIDS cases.
Abstract:
Forty five babies delivered in Oxford obstetric units who subsequently died unexpectedly in infancy were compared with 134 controls matched for maternal age, social class, parity, and year of birth to see whether five factors identified in an earlier study as predictive of subsequent child abuse would also predict the sudden infant death syndrome. Epidemiological findings had suggested certain similarities between the two events. In contrast with babies who were abused, four of the five factors did not distinguish between babies who died suddenly and unexpectedly and their controls, but there was a slight increase in the proportion of mothers of babies who died suddenly and unexpectedly for whom nursing staff thought that support and advice on feeding the baby were needed. Factors predictive of child abuse did not predict sudden infant death in this study.