L. Watson et al., IS BABY TOO WARM - THE USE OF INFANT CLOTHING, BEDDING AND HOME HEATING IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, Early human development, 51(2), 1998, pp. 93-107
Overheating of infants has been associated with a raised risk for sudd
en infant death syndrome (SIDS). Data on the use of heating, bedding a
nd clothing and other measures affecting the thermal environment of 4
week old infants were collected at a home interview for infants of wom
en born in Australia (Anglo-Celtic background), in Southern Europe, in
Asia and of women who had a planned out-of-hospital birth. These grou
ps have different risks of SIDS not explained by the classic social an
d perinatal risk factors nor associated with the currently promoted 'n
ew' risk factors. Thermal insulation of the infant's bedding and cloth
ing and excess thermal insulation (for any observed room temperature)
were calculated. Bed sharing differed significantly between the groups
as did the use of a sheepskin, tucking in firmly, the closing of door
s and window's and the use of heating in the infant's room. After stra
tifying by bed sharing practice and season of interview, it was found
that bed sharing infants had more thermal insulation than those sleepi
ng alone irrespective of season of interview. Infants sleeping alone i
n the Asian-born and Southern European-born groups were kept warmer th
an infants in the other two groups. Cultural factors appear to affect
the thermal environment in which infants are raised. Some bed sharing
infants in all four groups were inappropriately warm, particularly in
colder weather, but this was more likely in the Asian-born (low risk)
group than in the home birth (high risk) group. These results do not e
xplain the differences in SIDS incidence between the groups. (C) 1998
Elsevier Science Inland Ltd.