Prenatal risk factors for cot death in very preterm and small for gestational age infants.

In a nationwide prospective survey on very preterm and very-low-birthweight infants in The Netherlands, the incidence of cot death in infants discharged alive was 15%. The postnatal age at death in these infants did not differ significantly from age at death in other cot death infants. Using a case-control design, possible risk factors associated with cot death were identified: lower maternal age at first pregnancy; maternal smoking during pregnancy; hypothermia of the infant immediately after birth; decreased number of white blood cells and thrombocytes in the infant on the first day of life. Intrauterine hypoxia is hypothesized as the entity common to these factors.