London - Parents can reduce the risk of cot death with preventive measures such as ensuring the infant sleeps on its back and not sharing their bed with the baby, according to a recent review of European research.
An analysis of four new studies and earlier research into cot death, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), highlighted factors that raised the odds of a child dying mysteriously during sleep, doctors said.
"Avoidable risk factors such as those associated with inappropriate infants' sleeping position, type of bedding used and sleeping arrangements strongly suggests a basis for further substantial reductions in SIDS incidence rates," said Dr Richard Carpenter of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Cot death occurs most often between the ages of one and four months and is more prevalent in boys than girls. It is the leading cause of death in babies under a year old.
Carpenter, who published his report in The Lancet medical journal, advised parents not to share their bed with the infant, particularly if the mother smokes, but to keep the baby's cot in the parental bedroom.
Bedding should never cover the baby's head, both parents should avoid smoking and babies should never sleep face-down.
The review examined information on 745 SIDS cases and 2 400 controls from 20 centres across Europe.
"About 16 percent of cases were attributable to bed-sharing and roughly 36 percent to the baby sleeping in a separate room," Carpenter added.
While the study identified factors that contribute to an increased risk of cot death, it did not look at how these factors actually caused infants to die.