Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant where no cause is found after detailed post mortem.

  • 183 unexplained infant deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2017, a rate of 0.27 deaths per 1,000 live births: a statistically significant decrease from 0.31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016
  • Just over half (55.2%) of all unexplained infant deaths were boys in 2017 (0.29 deaths per 1,000 live births). This is a slight increase from 51.3% in 2016.
  • The SIDS rate for babies born to mothers under 20 has declined by 11.3% since  2004. The rate SIDS decreased for mothers of all age groups since 2004 but the smallest decline was for mothers aged under 20 years
  • 200 unexplained infant deaths occurred in the entire UK in 2017, a rate of 0.26 deaths per 1,000 live births

Credit: Office of National Statistics, National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 2019

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