Is this really the right way for a soap to deal with cot death?

All new mums know what it’s like to worry about cot death; to check your baby’s breathing and to make sure they’re OK; to feel their neck and chest and make sure they’re not too hot or too cold; to keep the baby monitor close at hand. Unfortunately, in my opinion EastEnders has taken a sensitive and important issue and turned it into farce. It was bad enough that Ronnie didn’t call an ambulance when she realised her baby wasn’t breathing. But the fact that within about five minutes (fast, even in soapland) she’d stolen another baby, placing her own lifeless child in the poor mite’s cot, was a step too far, I think. OK, it’s not real life. But the fact is that millions of people watch EastEnders and instead of seizing the opportunity to address the trauma of cot death, to be responsible and educate, the producers are insulting our intelligence. Not least because apparently neither Kat or Ronnie’s dopey relatives can tell the difference between one baby and another. I’d love to know what you think. *For more information about cot death, help and support, please click here. written by Liz Jarvis