See Also

Death of a child
Death of a child: Resources

Key Points

1. SUDI is a unique situation which is likely to cause an intense response from parents/carers, families and health care professionals
2. There are specific procedures that need to be followed in addition to those usually required in the event of the death of a child
3. All cases of SUDI need to be reported to the coroner

Background

Definitions

Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI)
The sudden, unexpected death of an infant:

• less than 12 months of age and
• where the cause was not immediately apparent at the time of death

Sudden unexpected death during sleep (SIDS)
The sudden unexpected death of an infant:

• less than 12 months of age and
• with onset of the fatal episode apparently occurring during sleep, that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation including performance of a complete autopsy, review of the circumstances of death and clinical history

Aims

• Establish, where possible, the cause of death, and help parents/carers and their families to understand how and why the death might have occurred
• Provide parents/carers with information about any potential health risks for surviving family members
• Ensure timely completion of the infant’s medical history
• Ensure that statutory obligations are met, such as liaising with the coroner and the police

Procedures

• Verify death (see Death of a child)
• Obtain a detailed medical history
• Take a second health practitioner with you, such as another doctor or a senior nursing colleague
• It is important to obtain specific key details which you might not ask in other situations. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
        Identification:
• Infant: name, date of birth, date of death, infant details, sex, ethnicity, address
• Parents: names, dates of birth, consanguinity
• Health care providers: doctor taking the history, social worker, other professionals present, GP
• Other medical information: infant health record book, growth chart, information from other healthcare providers such as ambulance officers
       Events surrounding death:
• Place and time of death, location of death, time found, people present at the scene, resuscitation details, details of confirmation of death
       Medical history:
• Family: identification and health details of family and household members, parental relationships, other children, any previous childhood deaths in the family
• Social: type of housing, family support networks, previous involvement with family services, domestic violence, smoking or use of drugs or alcohol
• Infant: antenatal, birth and postnatal details
• Events of the past 24-48 hrs: detailed account of events including feeds, sleep, medications, behaviours
• Events surrounding death: when last seen alive and by whom, details of sleep environment (bed, heating, co-sleeping)
• Genetic or metabolic diseases
• Child protection and wellbeing
• It can be useful to use a checklist to guide you (eg NSW Policy Directive - Management of SUDI Medical History Checklist)
• Report to coroner, see Death of a child
• Metabolic & genetic screening
• Family support
• See Death of a child: Parent information
• Provide parents / carers with information about any potential health risks for surviving family members
• Consider information for breastfeeding mothers

Additional Resources

• Responding well to the sudden death of an infant or child:
• Quick reference guide
• SUDI Resources: Video
• See Death of a child: Parent information
• See Death of a child: Resources

Last updated September 2022