Rethinking SIDS: Many Deaths No Longer A Mystery

The coroner said that Simon died of SIDS.  However, that answer was not good enough for us because it doesn’t really mean anything.  I’m glad that other people are starting to dig deeper into SIDS .  However, I’m very disappointed that this article only talks about back to sleep campaigns.  There is a Mayo Clinic study that shows that Long QT Syndrome is responsible for up to 15% of SIDS deaths.  Why aren’t we talking about that? 

The thought of a baby dying suddenly and unexpectedly is one that keeps parents awake at night, fearing the worst. For years, little was known about sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Babies would die in their sleep, and it was presumed that little could be done to prevent those deaths.

Today in the U.S., more than 2,000 babies die of SIDS every year, according to government figures.

But the mystery surrounding SIDS is not what it once was. Many SIDS deaths are now believed to be accidents caused by unsafe sleep practices. And some are questioning whether the term SIDS remains relevant at all.

SIDS: A ‘Diagnosis Of Exclusion’

In Wayne County, Mich., 50 to 60 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year, most of them in Detroit.

For the past 11 years, the task of investigating those cases has fallen to Pat Tackitt, a pediatric mortality investigator for the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

When an infant dies, law enforcement will contact her. She’ll head out immediately to the family’s home, spending anywhere from one to five hours talking with the family, using a doll to help parents re-enact what happened.

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