Sudden infant death syndrome rates decrease, but not fast enough
Newly released 2023 figures from the ONS show that the number of unexplained infant deaths slightly decreased from 187 (a rate of 0.31 deaths per 1,000 babies) to 164 (a rate of 0.28 deaths per 1,000 babies). The rate previously reported for 2022 was revised from 0.28 to 0.31, due to late registrations.
Progress is being made, but rates are not falling fast enough. We must not become complacent and we won’t rest until no baby dies suddenly and unexpectedly.
We’re seeing record numbers of children living in temporary accommodation. The possibility of infant mortality is increased in temporary accommodation. This is often due to lack of space to allow for safer sleep, families forced to co-sleep unsafely, or to make their own beds out of blankets and pillows, all of which put the babies at a higher risk of SIDS.
Earlier this year, the Shared Health Foundation and the National Child Mortality Database found that between 2019 and 2024, 74 children have died with temporary accommodation as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill health or death. 58 of these were babies under the age of one. Contributing factors to these deaths included poverty, the complexity of homelessness and deprivation as well as challenges associated with following safer sleep guidance.
We’re continuing to reach families at higher risk of SIDS, distributing 400 Bedtime Bundles to those in crisis, containing safer sleep essentials such as a travel cot and baby sleeping bag. Since then, the government’s Homelessness Code of Guidance has been updated to include that children under two years old living in temporary accommodation should have a cot to sleep in. This however is not enforceable, and many local authorities still do not provide this essential service.
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In the 80s, over 1,000 babies used to die every year from SIDS and we’ve worked tirelessly for decades to reduce that figure to 164. But this progress is slowing and we cannot lose momentum.
The Lullaby Trust's CEO, Jenny Ward
Our safer sleep resources are freely available to all, some available in multiple languages, and we also offer life-saving safer sleep training for professionals working with families.
Safer sleep information saves babies’ lives, but only when it reaches families. Our plea to you today is simple: to share our safer sleep information far and wide, to anyone who needs it. We will be there for every baby and every family, but we can all do our bit to ensure that every baby has a safe sleep space, because it saves lives.
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