PRE-NATAL AND POSTNATAL MEDICAL-CARE AND RISK OF SUDDEN-INFANT-DEATH-SYNDROME

The current study investigated whether sufficient attendance at prenat al and postnatal checks affects the risk of sudden infant death syndro me. A case-control study in the Tyrol enrolled 99 infants with sudden infant death syndrome that occurred between 1984 and 1994, and 136 ran domly selected control cases. The risk of sudden infant death syndrome was higher in infants whose mothers attended less than five antenatal health checks than in the group with at least five or more visits (OR 5.1; p < 0.01), Babies who received medical help beyond routine healt h controls had a lower risk than those who did not (OR 0.32; p < 0.001 ). These differences persisted when social and demographic variables ( mother's age at delivery, educational level, marital status, parity an d gestational age) were taken into account. Our study identified inade quate antenatal and postnatal care as a risk indicator for sudden infa nt death syndrome and as a potential target for further educational wo rk. Clinical recommendations should await the results of further evalu ations.