title: The impact of sudden infant death syndrome.
abstract: Fifteen hundred deaths are attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) each year in England and Wales. It is the main mode of death in the first year of life in developed countries and leaves parents and families devastated. Despite extensive efforts, no unifying concept of pathophysiology can explain most cases. The incidence of cot deaths has received a great deal of media coverage over the past few weeks, not always giving an accurate and unbiased picture. Many theories have been bandied around, yet there still appears to be no one specific reason for the death of an apparently healthy child.