{"id":119024,"date":"2024-01-26T01:24:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T01:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/01\/26\/safety-plea-over-co-sleeping-baby-deaths-figures\/"},"modified":"2024-01-26T01:24:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T01:24:05","slug":"safety-plea-over-co-sleeping-baby-deaths-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/01\/26\/safety-plea-over-co-sleeping-baby-deaths-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety plea over co-sleeping baby deaths figures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Parents are being urged to heed advice on co-sleeping with babies after new infant death figures were released. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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BBC News has learned that more than a quarter of infant deaths in Scotland last year involved co-sleeping. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The NHS no longer tells parents never to bedshare with their babies but focuses advice on doing so more safely. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Solicitor general, Ruth Charteris KC, said the figures suggested some babies were dying in “high-risk” co-sleeping situations. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Why Scottish babies are given boxes to sleep in<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has for the first time tracked the number of babies who died while co-sleeping with parents, following concerns identified as a result of its investigations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    During 2023 it received reports of 74 deaths of babies under the age of 18 months. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Of those, it identified 19 babies who died while co-sleeping. In a number of cases the parent or carer had consumed alcohol or drugs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    NHS Scotland no longer urges parents never to bedshare with babies, accepting that some parents will do so, but it offers advice on making it safer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    It says babies should be placed on their backs, in smoke free-spaces, on firm mattresses with pillows and bedding cleared out of the way to prevent suffocation or overheating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Parents are still told they should not share a bed with their baby if they smoke, have taken alcohol, drugs or medicines that cause drowsiness or if the infant is underweight. They are also told never to co-sleep in armchairs or on sofas. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    One mother whose baby died after they both fell asleep has shared her story with BBC News in the hope of raising awareness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Dawn Fernand, 33, from Forfar, lost her daughter Fern in November 2014 when she was seven weeks old. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Fern had slept in a moses basked during the night but they fell asleep together after an early morning feed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “Then when I woke up, I realised that she wasn’t breathing,” she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “So at that point, absolute panic set in, an ambulance was called and her dad started CPR straight away but of course it was too late.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Dawn described it as “the biggest rollercoaster I have and will ever go through in my life”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “You are in shock. You are numb. I remember my entire chest, it literally feels like you are getting torn apart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I lost part of me, and you physically feel the pain of losing that part of you. I will grieve forever. “<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    There were no alcohol or drugs involved in Fern’s death. Tests later revealed she had stopped breathing several times during her life, so co-sleeping may not have been to blame. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    But Dawn said she still wanted to warn parents about the risks, to prevent another family going through what she had. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    She said: “With the guidelines recently changing, I don’t think it is clear enough anymore that bedsharing is a risk. Whether you don’t take alcohol or don’t take drugs, it is still a risk to bedshare. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I know how hard it is to raise babies. I know it’s exhausting and I know sometimes all you can do is co-sleep. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “But please be aware that there is a risk while doing it. There are ways to make it as safe as possible, but there is still a risk. So I would always advise parents to put their baby asleep on their back, alone in their cot.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The solicitor general said she offered her condolences to anyone who had suffered what was “without doubt one of the most devastating tragedies that a family could experience”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Ruth Charteris KC said that overall, safer sleep advice had worked to save the lives of thousands of babies but she was concerned by the findings which showed unsafe co-sleeping was still happening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I can understand the challenges of getting enough sleep as a family, but expert advice should be followed,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “The evidence of the cases reported to the procurator fiscal shows that, tragically, babies can and do die in high-risk co-sleeping situations.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    She added: “It is my sincere hope that by drawing attention to our concerns, prompted by the outcome of our investigations, that the number of baby deaths in which co-sleeping was a preventable factor, can be even further reduced through open conversations about safer sleeping.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Lynsey Kidd, executive director at the Scottish Cot Death Trust, said she was concerned by the figures. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    She said: “The evidence tells us that for the first six months the safest place for baby to sleep is in its own separate sleep space. So that should be a place firm surface, such as a cot, a moses basket, a crib, in the parents’ room and that space should be clear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “So no loose bedding, no toys, no bumpers. In the absence of any other risk factors that is still the safest space for a baby.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “We are really worried as a charity because we support many of these families, because whilst we talk about figures, we see the absolute devastation for families across Scotland. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    If you’re affected by the issues in this report, you can find support from <\/i>BBC Action Line.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Parents are being urged to heed advice on co-sleeping with babies after new infant death figures were released. BBC News has learned that more than a quarter of infant deaths in Scotland last year involved co-sleeping. The NHS no longer tells parents never to bedshare with their babies but focuses advice on doing so more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSafety plea over co-sleeping baby deaths figures - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/01\/26\/safety-plea-over-co-sleeping-baby-deaths-figures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safety plea over co-sleeping baby deaths figures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parents are being urged to heed advice on co-sleeping with babies after new infant death figures were released. 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