ONS publishes data on sudden infant deaths

The Office for National Statistics has published Unexplained deaths in infancy, England and Wales: 2017 which presents annual data on sudden infant deaths (SIDS) in England and Wales and infant deaths for which the cause remained unascertained after a full investigation, with associated risk factors.

The new figures show that the number of deaths dropped significantly from 226 (a rate of 0.32 deaths per 1,000 live births) in 2016 to 183 (a rate of 0.27 deaths per 1,000) in 2017. This is an improvement on 2016's figures, which showed that the SIDS rate rose against the trend for the first time in three years.

The overall UK rate has also decreased by 18.8% since 2016 and 7.1% since 2015.

Prior to 2013, SIDS rates had not risen for a decade. Rates then dropped again, reaching record lows in 2014 and 2015. The rate of SIDS then rose by 12.5% in 2016 and the 2017 figures show SIDS rates have fallen by 3.6% since the previous record low in 2015.

The whole report can be accessed here.