Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - Legal Aspects
In recent times, child abuse has been implicated as one of the major cause of Sudden Infant Death.
Many cot-death babies 'killed by parents'
By Ian Murray, Medical Correspondent
According to a leading pediatric pathologist, parents or another adult may have killed 40% of babies registered as “cot deaths”. Michael Green, from Sheffield University’s Department of Forensic Pathology states that it is time to replace the use of "Sudden Infant Death" on death certificates as “not ascertained” instead.
Dr. Green is of the opinion that “child homicide especially by the mother may be difficult to detect". He also adds that we should not direct our suspicions solely to the mother.
British pediatrician, Roy Meadow, believes that several cases declared as SIDS are actually the result of child abuse.
Based on Meadow's opinion, a lot many mothers, of babies who were supposedly SIDS victims, were convicted of murder to varying degrees. This happened during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Sir Roy's theories gained disrepute due to several high-profile acquittals in 2003 and many now doubt their credibility. Several convictions were reviewed, leading to many high-profile cases convictions being overturned. The controversies continue to simmer, but now SIDS is believed to be behind the sudden infant deaths. This is more so because the incidence of SIDS has declined after the spread of the “Back to Sleep” campaign.
