by Susan Graf

Created on: January 05, 2011   Last Updated: January 07, 2011

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) remains a baffling and mysterious phenomenon effecting families around the world, with no clear cause or prevention.  SIDS is one type of infant death within a larger classification known as SUID (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death).  SUID is the unexpected death of an infant, where no obvious cause is seen at the time of death.  The CDC reports SUID as one of the leading causes of death in infants under one year old, attributing to approximately 4,600 infant fatalities each year in the United States.  

Once a Medical Examiner investigates a SUID death, the cause of death might then be attributed to a specific cause, such as asphyxiation or medical illness.  But for a large number of infant deaths, the true cause of death remains a mystery, and then SIDS (a diagnosis of exclusion) is identified, meaning all other causes of death have been ruled out.   SIDS deaths occur suddenly, in infants younger than one year, during sleep time, and with no clear cause.   

SIDS accounts for more than half of the sudden unexpected infant deaths in the United States.  Nationally, Black (non-Hispanic) male infants, ages 1-3 months old, are found in greater prevalence among cases of sudden infant deaths according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports national SIDS rates have declined significantly since the early 1990’s.  However, CDC research has found the decline in SIDS deaths since 1999 can be explained by an increasing number of infant deaths being classified as SUID fatalities, where improved diagnostic tests are able to identify more subtle causes of death such as suffocation, overlay, or wedging in co-sleeping situations. This change in classification of infant deaths from SIDS to SUID can be attributed to changes in how investigations are conducted, and by the identification of criteria used in making SUID determinations.

Infant Death Risk Factors

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) identifies a number of risk factors related to SUID and SIDS fatalities, which include:

Co-sleeping – when infant sleeps with a parent or sibling

Soft bedding, toys, blankets or pillows in the infants sleep area

Laying the infant prone, or in face down position for sleep

Overheated or excessively warm room temperature at sleep location

Unsafe sleep locations such as being held in a sleeping parent’s arms, sleeping

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