New Mothers' Knowledge of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Guidelines for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome for parents were altered in 1996 with five preventative factors outlined. In this cross-sectional survey 206 new mothers were interviewed post natally to assess knowledge of these factors and actual infant practices. The findings indicated that although knowledge of the preventative factors was generally high, a quarter of mothers were not adopting the recommended sleep position for infants and a third continued to smoke. The level of advice provided by health care professionals, with the exception of community midwives, was perceived to be low and there were instances of inappropriate professional practice that may have perpetuated incorrect sleeping position. Overall, it was concluded that health care professionals need to continue to promote the awareness of the preventative factors associated with SIDS amongst parents and ensure that their own practices reflect these.