BACKGROUND Infant necropsies are important for identifying cause of death. Recently issued guidelines have recommended investigations to be performed following sudden unexpected death in infants. AIMS To evaluate the quality and value of infant postmortem reporting. METHODS Postmortem reports from 1994-1996 and 1998-2000 in Ireland were evaluated using the National Sudden Infant Death Regis...

Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI, see: “New terminology”, over page) refers to the death of an infant aged under one year, which is initially unexplained. Death usually occurs while the infant is asleep. The incidence of SUDI has declined significantly since public prevention campaigns began in New Zealand in the early 1990s. Prior to this, in the 1980s, the SUDI mortality rate was over...

In the United States, in 2006, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was the 3rd leading cause of death in infants under 1 year of age (behind congenital malformations (1) and disorders relating to prematurity/low birth weight (2); and ahead of results of maternal complications of pregnancy (4); and accidents-unintentional (5)). In Rhode Island, during 20082009, SIDS is the 2 leading cause of dea...

OBJECTIVE To identify contemporary Cree infant care practices and any risk factors associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. METHODS A questionnaire conducted and recorded in the homes of 70 Cree women (83% of sample available) with infants under 12 months of age, living full time on a Cree reserve. Participatory observation was also used with mothers who agreed to demonstrate certain fea...

OBJECTIVES To investigate infant care practices in a small ethnic minority population within Britain that might suggest possible factors contributing to the low incidence of the sudden infant death syndrome in Asian populations. DESIGN Ethnographic interviewing, a qualitative comparative method drawn from social anthropology. SETTING Central Cardiff. SUBJECTS Non-random sample of 60 mothe...

KEY FINDINGS Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality. Life expectancy at birth for the U.S. population reached a record high of 78.8 years in 2012. The age-adjusted death rate for the United States decreased 1.1% from 2011 to 2012 to a record low of 732.8 per 100,000 standard population. The 10 leading causes of death in 2012 remained the same as in 2011. Age-adjusted death ra...

BACKGROUND Information on health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations is essential for developing public health programs aimed at reducing such disparities. The lack of data on disparities in birth outcomes between Inuit and non-Inuit populations in Canada prompted us to compare birth outcomes in Inuit-inhabited areas with those in the rest of the country and in other r...