What is sudden infant death syndrome (cot death)?
The sudden and unexpected death of a previously well infant is a tragedy known since biblical times. Commonly referred to as cot or crib death or in the scientific literature as the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Beckwith defined it in 1969 as “the death of an infant or young child, which is unexpected by history and in whom a thorough necroscopy examination fails to reveal an adequate cause of death”. The classical belief was that these deaths were due to overlaying or suffocation – in fact the official title for the condition in the USA until the early 1950s was accidental mechanical suffocation. We now know that this view is incorrect. In the developed world SIDS is the commonest cause of death in infants between one week and one year of age. It occurs in all countries and socio-economic groups, but rates vary widely, from well below one, to over six per thousand live births. A careful autopsy will fail to demonstrate an adequate cause of death in the majority of infants. Many
