The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) have published their latest child death review data, covering child mortality between 2021 and 2022.
The data release highlighted an overall increase in the number of child death reviews that identified modifiable factors, meaning there were factors that if changed might reduce the risk of future child deaths. Sudden unexpected and unexplained deaths are the second highest percentage of deaths where modifiable factors were identified. Whilst the data on sudden unexpected and unexplained deaths includes children of all ages, the highest percentage of deaths where modifiable factors were identified occurred in children under the age of 1 year (41%).
The NCMD has already identified that one of the most common modifiable factors is unsafe sleeping arrangements. For babies, this will include hazardous co-sleeping and sleeping a baby on their front. The Lullaby Trust remains committed to promoting safer sleep messages, and working with professionals to identify and support high-risk families and babies to follow the advice. We believe these numbers can and should be lower, saving more lives from the tragedy of sudden infant death syndrome.
