Hansard

I congratulate Gil Paterson on securing this debate on the Scottish Cot Death Trust.

As members from across the chamber have done, I commend the trust on its work over the past 30 years, as it passes this important milestone. Since 1985, the trust has raised funds for research into the causes of cot death, educated the public, raised awareness of cot death and worked tirelessly to improve support for bereaved families. This afternoon is Parliament’s opportunity to thank the trust for the contribution that it has made over the past 30 years. The Scottish Cot Death Trust is a leader in its field. It promotes healthy infancies, informs policy, celebrates best practice and offers friendship and support to families who have, sadly, lost a child to cot death.

The debate also gives us an opportunity to remind ourselves that the trust’s work is not done and that our work is not done. It continues and it must go on. As the trust says on its website,

“A baby dies every nine days in Scotland from Cot Death”,

and there are parents who will never know fully the reasons why their apparently healthy baby died. Those parents deserve some answers and some understanding of how it has come to be that their child has been lost.

For new parents and their families, for health professionals and for society as a whole, we need to do more to understand the risks to infants’ health. The better we understand those risks, the more we can do to reduce them and, I hope, prevent tragedies in the future.

The motion that is before us provides a healthy summary of the key advice and recommendations that the Scottish Cot Death Trust has developed in conjunction with the Scottish Government. It reminds us that the safest place for a new baby to sleep is in a cot in the parents’ bedroom. It reminds us to avoid sleeping on a sofa or an armchair with a baby. It reminds parents to avoid sharing a bed with a baby if they have been drinking, are overly tired or have been taking medication that causes tiredness. It reminds us to avoid letting a baby sleep on a surface that is neither firm nor flat—for example, infant swings, baby-bouncer chairs or bean bags. That is all helpful advice, but it would not have been common or widely circulated back in 1985, when the trust was first established.

I understand that the information that the trust and the Government have produced is now available in an easy-read format. That is a welcome development; I stress the need for that advice and, indeed, all public health advice, to be as accessible as possible.

I want to pay tribute to the donors, fundraisers and volunteers who have supported the trust as it has carried out its work over the past 30 years. We have to remember that charitable organisations such as the trust would not be able to deliver their assistance and services without the kindness and generosity of their supporters. Some 86 per cent of the charity’s income comes from donations from the public, and from the organisation’s fundraising events and activities: the family fun days, fundraising balls, sponsored sky dives, marathons and 10km runs that ensure that the trust continues to be a vibrant organisation, and not just a competent provider of services but an energetic and efficient champion of healthy infancies.

Every parent and grandparent knows the joy that a child can bring to a family and how a new baby can change their lives for ever. They know the eagerness and anticipation that the family feels when a baby is on the way—the planning, the preparations and the decoration. They know how a baby can take over and become the focus of everyone’s attention and emotions. I cannot imagine what some people have had to endure: the feeling of shock and loss that comes when a new baby—a new addition to the family—dies without explanation, within a few months or even just a few weeks of their birth. My heart goes out to any parent who has ever been in that position. It might be some comfort to know that there is an organisation, in the form of the Scottish Cot Death Trust, that is there for them. However, it must be our shared ambition for the future to ensure that no more parents lose children to cot death. We must understand cot death and we must prevent it.