While many new parents wish to address the risk factors associated with SIDS, there is occasionally confusion because additional terms are sometimes used to describe infant deaths in North America. Confusion arises because the word "syndrome" identifies (for many) an illness. SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion where there are no clinical findings to indicate the precise cause of death.
In North America, many additional terms have been used to describe sudden infant and child deaths, and we support any Canadian affected by these losses. Some of the terminology used includes:
SUDC – Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood
This is a rare, sudden and unexpected death of a child over the age of twelve months, which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation is conducted. Similar to SIDS, SUDC is a diagnosis of exclusion - given when all known and possible causes of death have been ruled out. For more information on SUDC, visit: www.sudc.org.
Other terms used include:
SUID – Sudden Unexpected Infant Death
SUDI – Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy
These refer generally to infant deaths that occur suddenly and unexpectedly in previously healthy infants. No obvious cause of death prior to investigation has been established. SIDS is considered to be a type of SUID / SUDI.
