I read with great interest your article ‘North West region records highest number of unexplained infant deaths’, in which the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths called for a campaign to highlight the dangers of smoking during pregnancy.
At the Fatherhood Institute we welcome such a campaign, but would urge that it be inclusive of expectant fathers – who play a vital role in shaping the health of both babies and their mothers.
There is strong evidence that fathers’ health behaviour affects the health of their babies. Smoking damages sperm quality, is directly linked to sudden infant death syndrome, and is associated with fussiness, colic and excessive infant crying (a key risk factor for shaken baby syndrome), for example.
Crucially, the father’s smoking behaviour also affects that of the mother: whether or not her partner smokes is one of the key predictors of whether or not a pregnant woman will herself smoke.
Fathers are more "around" in the perinatal period than many professionals believe: at the time of the birth of a baby, 86 per cent of couples are married or living together, and 93 per cent of these dads attend the birth.
The good news is that there is strong evidence that for male smokers, becoming a father is a key motivator for giving up.
For more information about fathers and smoking, read the Fatherhood Institute’s research summary, available free at http://tinyurl.com/255crrl.
Charlie Rice, head of health, the Fatherhood Institute
Make most of milk consultation
The School and Nursery Milk Alliance welcomes the Department of Health (DH) announcement that it is to extend its consultation on the nursery milk scheme to 23 October. The alliance previously warned that the original closing date of 11 September would provide insufficient opportunity for early years settings and educational professionals to make submissions to the consultation, due to summer holidays and a busy September.
It is important that early years settings now capitalise on the extended deadline to make their views known. It is vital that the provision of free milk to children in early years settings remains a central part of public health policy. There are valuable health and social benefits to making milk available from a young age, and the DH must ensure that any change to the scheme does not reduce the number of children receiving milk either directly or by default.
Jon Thornes, interim chairman, the School and Nursery Milk Alliance
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