Infant care

A report on sudden unexpected infant deaths has called for a national prevention programme tailored to atrisk communities as a way to save the lives of more babies. The Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee says 37 of 44 sudden unexpected infant deaths in 2015 were preventable. The combination of bed-sharing and having a pregnant mother in particular is “extremely hazardous”, the report says. Such babies were 32 times more at risk of dying unexpectedly in their sleep. Babies did best in safe sleep positions and in smokefree homes.