1/1. Pathological fear of cot death.Cot death (sudden infant death syndrome) is one of the most common causes of death in the first year of life. Four cases with a pathological fear of cot death are presented. All the patients were depressed and in 2 cases the fear of cot death had an obsessional quality. In all cases there were complications during pregnancy (miscarriage, threatened abortion, recurrent vomiting in last trimester). In 1 case, the patient knew 3 mothers who had suffered cot deaths; in another, the infant was gravely ill in the neonatal period. Pathological fear of cot death can be recognised by the presence of two central features - overvigilance and excessive nocturnal checking of the baby's breathing. Therapeutic interventions are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = fear (Clic here for more details about this article) |