Can you tell us what your research project entails?
“My current research is looking at if we can determine whether vaping, particularly in pregnancy, leads to an increased risk of sudden unexplained death in infancy (SUDI). This research is being jointly funded by The Lullaby Trust and Teddy’s Wish.
“SUDI is the death of a baby that is unexpected, and it includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
“The first stage of this research project is looking at two groups of babies. The first group is babies who have died suddenly and unexpectedly. This group have already had detailed investigations to try and find out why they died; their parents will have been asked lots of questions including their smoking and vaping habits. The second group is parents with babies living in Birmingham. We’ll be asking those parents to complete anonymous questionnaires for us.
“The second stage will be doing a detailed statistical analysis, looking for associations and risks between the two groups.”
What do we know currently about vaping and sudden unexpected deaths in infancy?
“It’s very well established that smoking in pregnancy or after birth very much increases the risk of SUDI and SIDS. We also know that smoking in pregnancy is associated with premature labour, and low birth weight babies, which are also risk factors for sudden infant death.
“The active ingredient in both smoking and vaping is nicotine. We know that nicotine is harmful to the developing brain. The brain also controls functions like breathing in babies, and we know that sudden infant death is associated with problems in breathing control.”
Has any research been done on this before?
“All of the research that has been done on sudden infant deaths and smoking was done around 20 years ago. There have been very few updates since then and of course, 20 years ago, no one was vaping. This means researchers don’t know whether vaping is a risk or not.
“In the meantime, smoking rates have been going down thankfully, but vaping rates have been rising. If vaping is a risk, we need to find out to be able to advise families and help them make a choice that is right for them.”
What do you hope the outcome of this project will be?
“The best outcome would be able to update our guidance to give families and parents really clear information. If this is about the risks of vaping, then parents can decide whether to stop vaping during and after pregnancy. This research and the advice it might inform, could save lives.”
Research project details
Every baby safe. Every family supported.
Every day, we keep babies safe and keep grieving families supported. But our ultimate goal is to live in a world where no baby dies suddenly or unexpectedly. Grieving families should have answers about their baby’s death. More research is needed to explore the causes of sudden infant death, so we know how to prevent it for the babies and families of tomorrow.
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