SIDS or Crib Death?

The current definition of SIDS is, "the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history." The real term we are referring to when we think of SIDS is actually crib death, or cot death in other countries. For clarification on SIDS and crib death, please understand this information from Dr. TJ Sprott:

• Crib Death is not SIDS
• Crib death is not a syndrome - the term Sudden Infant Death, commonly referred to as SIDS, is a scientific and linguistic misnomer
• “Syndrome: the concurrence of symptoms in a disease; set of concurrent symptoms characterizing it” (Oxford Dictionary)
• But there are no symptoms of crib death - the only commonality is death itself
• The coining of this term was most unfortunate, because it conveyed the incorrect impression that crib death had a medical cause, and this misunderstanding has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of babies
• The term Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the acronym SIDS should be abandoned

So why do we use the term "SIDS"? Because most parents will not search for information on "crib death." They will search for "SIDS," or "SIDS prevention." And at this time, if you put that into your search engine, you will get LOTS of false information from organizations who are accepting donations to find the "cure" for SIDS. Three and a half years ago, when I searched for information, I could not find the information provided here. So my hope is that using the term SIDS will help educate more parents, and ultimately, save more babies. For all practical purposes, when you see the term SIDS on this website, we are referring to what is actually crib death.