Data released this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that rates of unexplained infant deaths[1] in England and Wales have fallen to a new record low. There were 191 unexplained infant deaths in 2015 (0.27 per 1000 live births), compared to 217 in 2014, 252 in 2013, and over 300 in 2004 and 2005.
This continues a really encouraging trend that builds on the early successes of the Back to Sleep campaigns of the 1990s. Part of the success could be due to continued declines in maternal smoking (down to 11.4% in 2014/15), and also to the work of the Lullaby Trust and other organisations in promoting safer sleeping messages.
“The further reduction in SIDS rates for 2015 is extremely positive and demonstrates the effectiveness of following safer sleep advice and the importance of making sure that advice reaches all parents and carers. The Lullaby Trust has been campaigning over the past 25 years to ensure that this happens. Although SIDS rates have decreased significantly over the past decade, 191 babies still died in 2015 and the risk has not gone away. We need to ensure that parents continue to recognise the vital importance of following safer sleep advice. Only by making all families aware of the steps they can take to help protect their babies, can we save more lives and drive the number down.”
Francine Bates, Chief Executive, Lullaby Trust
You can find the safer sleep advice on the Lullaby Trust website:
Lullaby Trust Safer Sleep Advice
[1] The ONS data include those deaths coded as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (R95) and unascertained (R99)