Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2008-08-29
Intro: The children of young mothers are at much higher risk of cot death because their parent misses out on prevention advice, a charity has warned.
Sudden infant death is five times more common in the babies of teenage mothers compared with older mothers, according to national figures.
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths said smoking was the key factor.
A Canadian study showed babies whose mothers smoked in pregnancy struggled to cope with minor breathing problems.
Across the UK, there was a modest fall in cot deaths - where a child dies suddenly and unexpectedly in its first year - from 355 in 2005 to 321 in 2006. . . .
However, the charity said the overall figures disguised a substantially bigger problem among teenagers.
In 2006, there were 58 deaths, a rate of 1.27 deaths for every 1,000 live births. Among the children of women aged over 35, the rate was just 0.23 per 1,000.
Chief executive Joyce Epstein said that key messages on smoking in pregnancy were not getting through: "It is totally unacceptable that the highest cot death rate occurs in the most disadvantaged groups.
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