Partner SUID/SIDS Centers
Addressing the Challenge: The SUID/SIDS Consortium
The U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau's SUID/SIDS Resource Center Consortium is here to support you in your work with Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Suffocation.
In the United States today, nearly 28,000 infants do not live to celebrate their first birthday. Although SIDS deaths decreased by 53% during the first decade after the Back-to-Sleep Campaign (1992–2002), SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants ages 1–12 months (postneonatal period). As SIDS deaths declined, postneonatal mortality from other causes of sudden unexpected infant death increased significantly in the same 10-year period. In addition, fetal death and stillbirth are significant threats to healthy birth outcomes.
Nationwide, about 15 percent of all known pregnancies result in miscarriage, and approximately 26,000 infants are stillborn each year (about 70 stillbirths each day). The causes of many fetal and infant deaths are still unknown, and dramatic disparities in infant death rates persist among racial and ethnic populations in the United States.
As our knowledge and understanding of infant mortality has evolved, HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has implemented initiatives to reduce infant deaths and to support families affected by this devastating loss. MCHB currently funds the Resource Center as part of a National SUID/SIDS Consortium. All share the goal of reducing sudden infant deaths and assisting bereaved families, yet each center has a unique purpose and core responsibilities.
- The SUID/SIDS Resource Center at Georgetown University serves as a gateway to critical information on risk reduction, prevention, and bereavement for sudden unexpected infant/child death and pregnancy loss, including stillbirth and miscarriage.
- The SUID/SIDS Program Support Center provides education, training, technical assistance and bereavement support services to nonprofit, community-based perinatal, infant, and child mortality and pregnancy loss organizations.
- The SUID/SIDS Project IMPACT serves as the communications hub for a national network of fetal, infant, and child mortality programs -- convening, connecting and providing technical support to state and local efforts.
- The SUID/SIDS Project at the National Center for Cultural Competence provides technical assistance and develops resources on cultural and linguistic competence to help programs effectively address racial and ethnic disparities, infant/child death and pregnancy loss.
- Read more about how each center provides specific resources and services.
Injury and Violence Prevention Partners
The SUID/SIDS Consortium is part of a network of MCHB-funded Injury and Violence Prevention Programs, many of which address prevention of sudden and unexpected death of infants and children. These programs include:
- Children's Safety Network
Works with State and Territorial Title V, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) programs to strengthen their capacity to create healthy, safe and injury free communities for children and families. CSN works with a broad range of partners, including federal agencies, national organizations and professional groups to increase awareness about the importance of, extend the reach of, and share information on injury and violence prevention with state health agencies and others. CSN provides technical assistance, publications, and an electronic newsletter. - National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths
Supports efforts to understand why children die and to prevent child deaths. The center's services include providing technical assistance, training, and support to child death review (CDR) teams, creating CDR support resources and tools; establishing a national CDR report system; coordinating with other mortality and morbidity reviews; collaborating with state Title V programs; and promoting CDR to national public and private organizations.
Other Key Partners
- Many state groups, national organizations, and federal agencies also provide information on SUID/SIDS.
