IT SOUNDS like bad news: cot deaths in the UK have risen for the first time since 1996, when they peaked at just over 0.6 deaths per 1000 live births. Last year, that rate edged up from 0.29 to 0.30.
But while sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is always tragic, the reason for the recorded rise is more thorough investigation into the causes of babies’ deaths, say researchers from the UK government’s national statistics office, who published the data on 25 August. A major report into cot deaths published last September by the UK Royal College of Pathologists and the…
