Research undertaken by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with the Greater Glasgow Health Board’s Public Health Department has found a link between maternal blood levels of Alpha Feto Protein (AFP) in pregnancy and the risk of a baby dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or cot death.

The research, headed up by Professor Gordon Smith, was supported with a grant of £16,700 from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.

AFP is a protein that circulates in foetal blood. Small quantities cross the placenta and the levels can be measured in the mother. If high levels of AFP are found in a pregnant woman’s blood then this is a sign that the placenta might be failing. Poor placenta function can lead to low birthweight and premature birth. These in themselves are risk factors for SIDS. It is already known that high levels of AFP are linked to stillbirths but this is the first time that anyone has looked for, and found, a link with SIDS.

All pregnant women are offered blood tests where levels of AFP protein are measured to determine the risk of a baby being born with conditions such as spina bifida and Down’s Syndrome. The test results for over 200,000 women who gave birth in Scotland between 1991 and 2001 were examined. The risk of having a baby that would go on to die as a cot death was three times higher among women with the top 20% of AFP levels compared with the bottom 20%.

Professor Gordon Smith, who carried out this study said:

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