National Sudden Infant Death Register

Address:


Tel:
Fax:
Email:

 Irish Sudden Infant Death Association,George's Hall, The Children's Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1.
+ 353 1 878 8455
+ 353 1 878 7696
kibnsidr@iol.ie

The Irish Sudden Infant Death Association's National SID Register was established in 1992.

Aim of the Register: To provide up-to date accurate information on sudden infant death in the Republic of Ireland.

To achieve the above aim, the Register requests professionals to advise them of all sudden and unexpected deaths in infants and young children within 48 hours.

Phone the hotline on 087-423777 or 01-8788455.

Currently the Register provides the following services:
  • Accurate information for bereaved families, professionals, the media and public education on the current picture of SIDS in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Home visits to bereaved families outlining ISIDA's range of services in the area of support, information and research.
  • Guidelines for professionals to assist them in caring for newly bereaved families, including a 24-hour phone Hotline at 087-423777.
  • Research projects into Sudden Infant Death focussing on epidemiological data and education programmes.

For in depth analysis of the state of SIDS in Ireland, take a look at the 1995 National SID Register's Report Summary.

Special Note: To ensure that all families are offered the Register's services, it is imperative that notification is sent immediately to the Register.

Latest Information.

  • Regrettably, the provisional figures for 1997 indicate a 44% increase on 1996 figures.
  • There was a total of 69 sudden and unexpected infant and young child deaths in 1997. This yields a provisional SID rate of 1.3 per 1,000 live births.
  • The rising SIDS rate has brought a return of the winter predominance of deaths. SIDS deaths in 1992 and 1997 demonstrate an excess of deaths at weekends.
  • Since 1992 the age pattern of SIDS deaths demonstrate the following changes:
    • A gradual rise in the % of deaths in the birth to 2 months age group.
    • A gradual decline in the % of deaths in the 4 to 11 months age group.
    • A gradual rise in the % of deaths over 12 months of age.