Reducing the risk of cot death messages 

11 April 2008

The new Government report, the Child Health Promotion Programme: Pregnancy and the first five years of life, builds on the Children's National Service Framework published in 2004. The programme seeks to provide preventive services tailored to the individual needs of children and families as well as acting as a best practice guide for children's services.

The CHPP highlights the importance of delivering cot death risk reduction messages in a repetitive and reinforcing manner to all new mothers and fathers. The CHPP recommends targeting this advice to both parents when there are increased risks (e.g. parent being a smoker and bedsharing) or if the parent/s are in demographically high-risk groups (e.g. first-time mothers, single mothers, families on low income).

The report also highlights the Family Nurse Partnership programme from the United States which is being tested in England. This nurse-led, intensive home-visiting preventive programme for the most at-risk young, first-time parents. The programme begins in early pregnancy and continues until the child is two years old. It recognises the importance of pregnancy and the first years of life in influencing children’s life chances. This partnership has been very successful in the US and FSID will be interested to see how this works in the UK.

View the Child Health Promotion Programme: Pregnancy and the first five years of life report

Find out more about the Family Nurse Partnership

View our tool kit for professionals on reducing the risk of cot death.