http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/../../healthnews/cotdeath-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 07:18:11 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/child-death-rate-reduced-after-prenatal-micronutrient-food-supplementation-intervention-101395-1.htm Pregnant women in Bangladesh who received iron and folic acid combined with early food supplementation improved survival of their newborns, shows study published in JAMA. "Maternal and child undernutrition is estimated to be the underlying cause of 3.5 million annual deaths and 35 percent of the total disease burden in children younger than 5 years. The potential long-term consequences of nutritional imbalance or insult in fetal or early life also include cognitive impairment and chronic diseases in adulthood....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/child-death-rate-reduced-after-prenatal-micronutrient-food-supplementation-intervention-101395-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/avoid-all-risk-factors-for-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-study-100017-1.htm SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome is characterized by the sudden death of an infant without any medical history and which remains unexplained even after a forensic investigation. SIDS is seen to be associated with sleep; therefore it is also referred to as crib death or cot death. A common and frequent practice is to put babies on their backs to sleep. Since SIDS is known to be associated with sleep, hence precaution should be taken to avoid the misfortune of sudden infant death syndrome....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/avoid-all-risk-factors-for-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-study-100017-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/new-discovery-could-lead-to-prevention-and-treatment-of-sids-97778-1.htm Researchers have found that brain cells are critically important for the growth of brain stem neurons responsible for cardiorespiratory control. The discovery has profound implications for the prevention and treatment of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the leading cause of death in children aged one month to one year. The new discovery is published online in INeuroscience /I In their study, the OHSU team looked at glial cells, non-neuronal cells of the brain, and found that ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-discovery-could-lead-to-prevention-and-treatment-of-sids-97778-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Baby-Products-Do-Not-Prevent-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-SIDS-93887-1.htm bManufacturers of over-the-counter sleep products for babies should not claim that these products will prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), cautions the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Rather, they recommend that 'the best thing you can do to lower the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is to place your baby on his or her back to sleep, with nothing else in the crib or bassinet'. /b When a child under age one dies suddenly without an explainable cause of death, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Baby-Products-Do-Not-Prevent-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-SIDS-93887-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Ad-Campaign-Aimed-at-Reducing-Infant-Death-Stokes-Controversy-93622-1.htm An ad campaign by the city of Milwaukee detailing the dangers of co-sleeping with an infant has been stoking controversy after it displayed an infant sleeping in an adult bed with a butcher's knife sticking out of the covers. The ad has been designed for free by Serve Marketing and was unveiled by the Mayor Tom Barrett and Commissioner of Health Bevan Baker last week at a press conference. The ad comes with a big headline saying "Your baby sleeping with you can be just as dangerous" while at the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Ad-Campaign-Aimed-at-Reducing-Infant-Death-Stokes-Controversy-93622-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/No-Answers-as-Infant-Death-Toll-in-West-Bengal-Continues-to-Rise-92643-1.htm The number of infant deaths in West Bengal continues to rise with latest reports revealing 17 more deaths in space of the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 30 in the last three days. All of the deaths occurred at the state-run Burdwan Medical College and BC Roy Children's Hospital with the later accounting for 17 deaths. The health authorities are yet to find out the exact cause that led to the deaths. Authorities at the hospitals are trying to claim that the situation is normal....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/No-Answers-as-Infant-Death-Toll-in-West-Bengal-Continues-to-Rise-92643-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Sleep-Campaigns-to-Prevent-SIDS-92130-1.htm Study reinforces the need for public education programs that encourage parents to place their babies to sleep in back position in a safe crib to prevent Sudden Death Syndrome (SIDS). The abstract, "Retrospective Review of Sleeping Conditions in Infant Deaths in New Mexico," was presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston. Public health efforts, such as the successful AAP co-sponsored "Back to Sleep" campaign, have resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the SIDS rate....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Sleep-Campaigns-to-Prevent-SIDS-92130-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Can-Risk-of-SIDS-Go-Up-When-Infants-Share-the-Bed-With-Adults-91441-1.htm !--[if gte mso 9]xml Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /xml![endif]--!--[if gte mso 9]xml /xml![endif]--!--[if !mso]object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui/object style st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /style ![endif]--!--[if gte mso 10] style /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Can-Risk-of-SIDS-Go-Up-When-Infants-Share-the-Bed-With-Adults-91441-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-Subsequent-Stillbirth-High-for-Women-With-Infant-Death-in-First-Pregnancy-91052-1.htm Women whose first pregnancy ends in infant death are significantly more likely to have a subsequent stillbirth, a new study has said. The study undertaken by US researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Rochester looked at 320,350 women who had two singleton pregnancies between 1989 and 2005. Of the tested women, 2,483 women (0.78 percent) had experienced infant death in the first pregnancy, while the remaining 317,867 women had an infant in their first pregnancy ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-Subsequent-Stillbirth-High-for-Women-With-Infant-Death-in-First-Pregnancy-91052-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Child-Death-Toll-Rising-in-Africa-Due-to-Fewer-Health-Workers-90234-1.htm Children in countries facing a dearth of health workers, mainly in Africa, are five times more likely to die from illnesses than those in developed countries, a Save the Children study showed Tuesday. The new Health Workers Reach Index by the UK-based NGO shows that Chad is the worst place to treat a sick child, while Switzerland is the best, with 13 of the worst 20 countries for a child to fall ill in, in Africa. Famine and war-wracked Somalia is the runner up for worst place. Countries ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Child-Death-Toll-Rising-in-Africa-Due-to-Fewer-Health-Workers-90234-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Links-Feel-Good-Brain-Chemical-to-SIDS-88438-1.htm Scientists have found a link between 'feel good' brain chemical serotonin and cot death. Researchers have shown that the chemical, which is more usually associated with keeping mood on an even keel, is key to breathing and regulation of body temperature. Both of these are thought to go awry in cot death, which affects around 300 British babies a year, with boys, premature and low birth weight infants and babies whose parents smoke being at greater risk. The US researchers used genetic ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Links-Feel-Good-Brain-Chemical-to-SIDS-88438-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-New-Findings-88427-1.htm The role of serotonin-producing cells in the functions of the body has been discovered by scientists. Scientists believe that these findings may help them better understand the role of serotonergic neurons in many human disorders like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. A newly developed toolkit that enables them to turn off targeted cell populations while leaving others unaffected. The research group led by Susan Dymecki, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, observed ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-New-Findings-88427-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Computerized-System-to-Prevent-SIDS-Developed-87748-1.htm BabyBeat - a computer system developed by students of BGU Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences could be used to battle Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), as well for telemedicine applications. It uses computer algorithms to convert video footage to pulses that represent a baby's heartbeat and skin tone. In the event that the system detects an abnormal heartbeat, an alarm sounds to awaken the baby, change its breathing pattern and alert the parents. SIDS is the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Computerized-System-to-Prevent-SIDS-Developed-87748-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Vitamin-A-Supplements-Do-Not-Reduce-Maternal-Infant-Death-85175-1.htm Intake of Vitamin A or beta carotene supplements during pregnancy may not reduce the risk of maternal or infant death risk, according to new research. A new study by Keith P. West Jr, of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and colleagues has suggested that pregnant women who received vitamin A or beta carotene supplementation in a randomized trial did not have a lower rate of all-cause maternal, fetal, or infant death, compared to women who received placebo. Maternal vitamin A deficiency ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Vitamin-A-Supplements-Do-Not-Reduce-Maternal-Infant-Death-85175-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Linked-to-Defective-Swallowing-Reflex-83060-1.htm Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or Cot Death could be caused by a swallowing reflex that forces the food to go the wrong way, according to a group of researchers from Australia. SIDS has for long been a puzzle for doctors who have failed to identify the exact cause of sudden deaths in infants in spite of extensive forensic and death scene investigations. However researchers, led by Professor Paul Pilowsky, from Macquarie University in Sydney, suggest that the deaths could be caused by poor ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Linked-to-Defective-Swallowing-Reflex-83060-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-Deaths-Rise-by-33-Percent-on-New-Years-Day-Study-78187-1.htm New year may not be a good start for all, as a new study has pointed out that number of infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) shoots by 33 percent on New Year's Day. The possible reason for the above condition is alcohol consumption by caretakers on New Year's Eve. Led by David Phillips of the University of California, the study documented the dramatic rise in SIDS deaths on New Year's. Phillips and his co-authors found three types of evidence linking SIDS to alcohol. ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-Deaths-Rise-by-33-Percent-on-New-Years-Day-Study-78187-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-Risk-Raised-Sharply-By-Maternal-Smoking-During-Pregnancy-76576-1.htm Maternal smoking during pregnancy, a new research study warns, is a major risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), with nicotine likely as the active agent. Researchers Hemant Sawnani, Erik Olsen, and Narong Simakajornboon, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Ohio, summarized the evidence from both human and animal studies, showing nicotine (in cigarette smoke) interferes with the development of the parts of the brain that control breathing. Prenatal exposure ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/SIDS-Risk-Raised-Sharply-By-Maternal-Smoking-During-Pregnancy-76576-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Rwanda-Nears-Success-in-Fulfilling-Child-Death-Reduction-Target-74335-1.htm Rwanda is nearing success in its effort to meet the UN-set Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality, having made advancement in its fight against malaria and pneumococcal disease. "Rwanda is one of the few countries in Africa that stands a chance of reaching the MDG targets if the current rhythm is maintained," said Lamine Cisse Sarr, World Health Organisation representative to Rwanda. "We still have a long way to go but in the last 20 months we have made a lot of progress," ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Rwanda-Nears-Success-in-Fulfilling-Child-Death-Reduction-Target-74335-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Car-Seats-may-Not-Allow-for-Enough-Oxygen-56958-1.htm A new study by researchers at the University Medical Centre in Ljubjana, Slovenia says that infant car seats may not be the best option for babies as they lower oxygen levels available to them. The researchers measured oxygen levels in 200 healthy 2-day-old infants. All infants in the study had been placed in hospital cribs for half an hour and in infants care seats and beds for 60 minutes. The researchers found that average oxygen saturation level in the cribs was 97.9% and was 96.3% in the car bed and 95....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Car-Seats-may-Not-Allow-for-Enough-Oxygen-56958-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Attributes-Infant-Mortality-in-19th-Century-to-SIDS-54858-1.htm The infant deaths caused in the 19th century, which had been attributed to smothering and overlaying by either a co-sleeper or bedding, were actually crib deaths or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to an expert. Dr. Ariane Kemkes, an independent researcher from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, says that lawmakers would have mislabelled these deaths as neglect and even infanticide, as SIDS had not been identified by then. SIDS is the third most prominent cause of death among infants ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Attributes-Infant-Mortality-in-19th-Century-to-SIDS-54858-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Nicotine-induced-SIDS-may-be-Prevented-by-Drug-Treatment-52437-1.htm Babies vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) because their mothers smoked during pregnancy could be treated by a new class of drugs, a study has revealed. According to researchers at McMaster University, exposure of the fetus to nicotine results in the inability to respond to decreases in oxygen-known as hypoxia-which may result in a higher incidence of SIDS. In the same study on rats, they found that the diabetic medication 'glibenclamide' can reverse the effects of nicotine exposure, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Nicotine-induced-SIDS-may-be-Prevented-by-Drug-Treatment-52437-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Second-Hand-Smoke-Exposure-Could-Raise-The-Risk-Of-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-50325-1.htm Australian researchers say that exposures to cigarette smoke induce abnormalities in babies' brains, thus putting them at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. To reach the conclusion, researchers from University of Sydney analyzed the brain tissue of babies who had undergone an autopsy at Sydney's Glebe morgue. After analyzing, they found exposure to any second-hand smoke could precipitate these brain cell changes, and not just exposure in utero by maternal smoking. Rita Machaalani, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Second-Hand-Smoke-Exposure-Could-Raise-The-Risk-Of-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-50325-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Maternal-Smoking-Can-Put-Babies-At-Increased-Risk-To-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-49598-1.htm Researchers say babies born to mothers who smoke are more likely to be slower to wake or respond to stimulation, and this might explain their raised risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). To reach the conclusion, scientific director of the Ritchie Center for Baby Health Research Associate Professor Rosemary Horne and PhD student Heidi Richardson compared babies of mothers who smoked both during the pregnancy and after the baby was born, with babies who lived in a smoke-free environment....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Maternal-Smoking-Can-Put-Babies-At-Increased-Risk-To-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-49598-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Can-Maternal-Smoking-Be-The-Culprit-49431-1.htm Every parent's nightmare, cot death or more scientifically, the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), may not be as non-preventable as once thought. A recent study in the April 1 issue of the journal ISLEEP/I has carried a report saying that maternal smoking has replaced stomach sleeping as the greatest modifiable risk factor for SIDS. Prenatal smoking has been associated with an impaired infant arousal process. Results show that the progression from sub-cortical activation to cortical arousal ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Can-Maternal-Smoking-Be-The-Culprit-49431-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Sharing-a-Bed-With-a-Baby-Does-Not-Raise-Cot-Death-Risk-44412-1.htm Researchers have found that sharing a bed with an infant doesn't elevate the risk of cot death. Across the UK parents have been put off sharing a bed with their new babies following official advice which states that it is safer for all children under the age of six months to be put in a cot in their parents' room. The statement was based on research which appeared to establish a strong link between "co-sleeping" and sudden infant death syndrome - or cot death. However, the new British ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Sharing-a-Bed-With-a-Baby-Does-Not-Raise-Cot-Death-Risk-44412-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Using-Fans-may-Reduce-SIDS-Risk-42669-1.htm A new study says that saying a fan in rooms with inadequate ventilation may lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Researcher leader Kimberly Coleman-Phox and her colleagues at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, California, say that inadequate room ventilation might facilitate the pooling of carbon dioxide around an infant's nose and mouth, increasing the likelihood of rebreathing. In their study report, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Using-Fans-may-Reduce-SIDS-Risk-42669-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Formulas-a-Risk-Factor-for-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-38998-1.htm Many epidemiologic studies (study of factors affecting health and illness) have linked use of infant formulas to increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). One review study found infants who were formula-fed were 2.11 times more likely to suffer SIDS than those who were breastfed. Low levels of serotonin are known to be a risk for SIDS. There are two ways to cause low levels of serotonin. Reducing its precursor and increasing its receptor are two ways by which low levels of serotonin can happen....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Formulas-a-Risk-Factor-for-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome-38998-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-SIDS-Higher-in-Women-Who-Smoke-When-Pregnant-37426-1.htm Women who smoke when pregnant increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in their babies, a new study has found. Clinicians have long considered prenatal cigarette smoke exposure a major contributing risk factor for SIDS, but researchers had not proved a casual relationship. Other contributing factors include disturbances of breathing and heart rate regulation and impaired arousal responses, thermal stress (primarily overheating from too high temperatures or too much clothing) ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-SIDS-Higher-in-Women-Who-Smoke-When-Pregnant-37426-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Increased-Risk-of-SIDS-If-Newborns-are-Overheated-37416-1.htm Increased ambient temperature is directly linked to increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), researchers at the University of Calgary have found. The team said that things such as over-wrapping a baby at night time or increasing the room temperature can affect the baby's pattern of breathing. Other known contributing factors to SIDS include babies sleeping in a belly-down position and exposure to cigarette smoke. Combining any of these factors with thermal stress may put babies at greater risk....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Increased-Risk-of-SIDS-If-Newborns-are-Overheated-37416-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Child-Death-Toll-from-Virus-Outbreak-in-China-Rises-to-26-36291-1.htm The death toll in China from a virus that preys on children rose to 26 on Monday with state-run media reporting another victim, as the government pressed on with efforts to rein in the outbreak. The death occurred in eastern China's Zhejiang province, the state-run Zhejiang Online news site said, without specifying when the person died. It adds to 22 children who had already died in neighbouring Anhui province and another three reported child deaths in southern Guangdong province. The ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Child-Death-Toll-from-Virus-Outbreak-in-China-Rises-to-26-36291-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Charity-Warns-Charlotte-of-Putting-Her-Babys-Life-at-Risk-27383-1.htm Charlotte Church has been told that she is putting her little baby daughter Ruby's life at risk by making her sleep in bed with her. Cot death charity Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths has warned the Crazy Chick star that the tot may be risking suffocation. "When we heard Charlotte was sharing a bed with her baby, we wanted to make sure she was making an informed decision about the risks,' the Mirror quoted the association's director Joyce Epstein, as saying. "We supplied her with the relevant information....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-Charity-Warns-Charlotte-of-Putting-Her-Babys-Life-at-Risk-27383-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Death-Rate-Has-Reached-Alarming-Levels-in-Marshall-24412-1.htm A new study by the government of the Marshall Islands suggests the infant death rate in remote islands of the western Pacific nation are among the worst in the world. The study released Tuesday found at least half of all deaths of babies under a year old on remote outer islands were not reported to the Ministry of Health last year. It said the infant death rate was 90 deaths per 1,000 births or three times the national level of 30. A rate of 90 is among the worst in the world and in line with some of the poorer African nations....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Infant-Death-Rate-Has-Reached-Alarming-Levels-in-Marshall-24412-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Simple-Hearing-Test-may-Determine-SIDS-Risk-24191-1.htm Experts have found that a simple hearing test may now allow doctors to identify which newborns are at a risk for the perplexing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The study, conducted by Dr. Daniel D. Rubens of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, looked at 31 babies in a Rhode Island study group who died from SIDS. It found that all the children shared the same characteristics in the results of their newborn hearing test for the right ear. Children who did not share those characteristics did not die from SIDS....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Simple-Hearing-Test-may-Determine-SIDS-Risk-24191-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Analysis-Puts-Cot-Death-Under-Scrutiny-Once-Again-23875-1.htm An analysis published in this week's BMJ is set to re-open the debate over sudden unexpected infant death (cot death). The Lancet recently published a study on repeat infant deaths in 46 families, which suggested that almost 90% of second deaths in the same family are natural. These findings contrasted with earlier studies, which found a much higher proportion of repeat cot deaths were probably homicide. Yet the Lancet study has proved very influential, being accepted by bodies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Analysis-Puts-Cot-Death-Under-Scrutiny-Once-Again-23875-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-SIDS-Reduced-by-the-Use-of-Baby-Dummies-Research-22435-1.htm The night-time use of babies dummies halves the risk of cot death, the biggest cause of death among babies in Britain over one month old, according to research published Thursday. A study of recent data by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was halved when parents send their babies to sleep with a dummy, or pacifier, according to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), the UK's leading Cot Death charity. The use of dummies ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-SIDS-Reduced-by-the-Use-of-Baby-Dummies-Research-22435-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Decline-in-Breastfeeding-Linked-to-Child-Deaths-in-Asia-UNICEF-22376-1.htm About 160,000 infants die each year in the Asia-Pacific region due to a decline in breastfeeding, a UNICEF expert told a regional conference on Wednesday. There are "roughly 160,000 children dying annually in Eastern and Southeastern Asia whose deaths are attributed to something as preventable and as imminently correctable as sub-optimal breastfeeding," said UN children's agency (UNICEF) regional advisor Stephen Atwood. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that babies less than five ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Decline-in-Breastfeeding-Linked-to-Child-Deaths-in-Asia-UNICEF-22376-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Recurrence-of-SIDS-Overestimated-Study-21983-1.htm Parents who have lost their first child sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) shouldn't live in constant fear that the same will happen to their second child, for according to a review study, the recurrence of the syndrome has been overestimated in studies so far. The authors studied eight population-based studies that have been reported since 1970, and which said the relative risks of cot death recurring ranged from 1.7 to 10.1 times that of the general population. The review checked to see ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Recurrence-of-SIDS-Overestimated-Study-21983-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-on-Rise-in-Australia-21565-1.htm Cot death campaigners on Friday expressed concerns that the number of babies dying unexpectedly in their sleep was on the rise in Australia. The number of children dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) increased from 59 in 2004 to 87 in 2005, SIDS and Kids Western Australia spokeswoman Angela Doyle said. Doyle said education programs about safe sleeping practices for babies had reduced cot deaths from more than 500 in 1988 and some parents now felt that SIDS was no longer a risk. "It ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cot-Death-on-Rise-in-Australia-21565-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Reforms-Could-Cut-the-Number-of-Unexplained-Infant-Deaths-21289-1.htm Reforms introduced as a result of the Sally Clark case could lead to a halving in the number of cases of unexplained infant deaths and a positive legacy emerging from tragedy, says a feature in this week's BMJ. Sally Clark was arrested in 1998 for the murder of her two infant sons. She was imprisoned but won her appeal in 2003. She died in March this year. The consequences of the case, says Jonathan Gornall, have been devastating for her family and far reaching for the medical and other professions involved....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Reforms-Could-Cut-the-Number-of-Unexplained-Infant-Deaths-21289-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=20699 Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, set to mark its first anniversary May 18, is battling charges that it is to blame for the deaths of 38 newborns in a state-run hospital. The children contracted infection in the labour room of the Sree Avittam Tirunal (SAT) Hospital in the last two months. A court has charged Health Minister P.K. Sreeemathi and seven others with culpable homicide not amounting to murder over the deaths. A special probe has also been initiated into the matter....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=20699 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=20573 A court here Thursday charged Kerala Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi and seven others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder over the death of 38 newborns in a hospital due to infection. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate here passed the judgement on a complaint by a person regarding infant deaths at the state-owned Sree Avittam Tirunal (SAT) Hospital. The deaths were due to infection the infants contracted in the labour room, according to blood tests conducted at the Medical College Hospital....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=20573 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=19112 The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the third leading cause of infant death, may be lowered through the use of a pacifier. According to an article in Nursing for Women's Health, neonatal health care practitioners should counsel new parents on the potential benefits of using a pacifier. This advice follows the release of updated recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on SIDS, suggesting that pacifier use be encouraged for children less than one year of age....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=19112 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17621 The primary reason for infant death in the United States is due to birth defects, a study has found. Researchers at the University of Arkansas analyzed the medical records of babies under 10 days old, which revealed that birth defects in the heart, such as, pulmonary valve stenosis, happen to be important reasons for hospitalization. The study, enabled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed 35 birth defects from the 2003 medical records. The finding revealed that ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17621 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17455 The connection between sleep and heart disease is a two-way street: Poor sleep can contribute to heart disease, and heart disease can disturb sleep, reports the January 2007 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. Poor sleep has been linked with high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart failure, heart attack and stroke, diabetes, and obesity. The thread that ties these together may be inflammation, the body's response to injury, infection, irritation, or disease. Poor sleep increases levels of ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17455 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17317 Consumer Reports conducted a study which found that most infant car seats 'failed disastrously' the crash tests even at low speeds such as 35 mph. The seats come off their bases, get warped in place, or sometimes are even thrown away. Only two brands of infant car seats were recommended and the magazine suggested the federal recall of the Evenflo Discovery, which was found to be the poorest performing seat. But Evenflo disagrees with the study and in a statement said, 'The magazine's ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17317 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16765 Some 3.1 million children under the age of five and 1.7 million women die in Asia annually because of poor sanitation, an international conference was told Saturday. "The subject of women and sanitation is of utmost importance, and if we have to ensure gender equality to pave the way for rapid progress, women's problems need immediate attention," said Bindeshwar Pathak, founder, Sulabh International. "Poor water and sanitation also increases the vulnerability to opportunistic infections ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16765 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16356 A recent report in the Medical Journal has cast aspersions on the findings of a cot death study that had brought infamy to the pediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow A paper published in 2005 in the medical journal, The Lancet, has indicated that most of the second infant deaths occurring in families who had lost the first baby also due to SIDS, could be due to natural causes. This was substantiated by the research led by Prof Robert. But a report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has now doubted these inferences....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16356 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16250 Drinking alcohol may disturb your sleep though it initially helps in inducing slumber, says a new study. Alcohol leads to poor-quality sleep in the second half of the night and overall less deep sleep, reported the online edition of science portal EurekAlert. Deirdre A. Conroy and other researchers at the University of Michigan examined 18 people - nine men and nine women -, their drinking habits and its impact on their sleep. As people drink more regularly across nights to fall asleep, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=16250 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=15643 More than 20 babies have died at the B.C. Roy Memorial Hospital here last week, laying bare the West Bengal government's abysmal healthcare facilities and bringing back the horrors of 2002 when similar deaths occurred in this only state-run referral hospital for children. The 22 crib deaths since Thursday come at a time when the state health department is in the midst of a controversy over using condemned blood testing kits, which are feared to have led to transfusion of HIV and Hepatitis contaminated blood among thousands of people....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=15643 http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=15616 The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or 'cot death' that kills about 300 babies a year in Britain may be linked to a defect in the brain, scientists have said. Researchers led by Hannah Kinney at the Boston Children's Hospital in the US compared the brains of cot death victims with those of others who had died from recognised medical conditions. They discovered a defect in the brain stem of the cot victims, reported the online edition of Daily Mail. Brain stem regulates breathing, blood pressure and body heat....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=15616