The percentage of sudden infant death cases that are diagnosed as accidental suffocations has risen steadily in recent years. The following shows the rising rate of detection of asphyxia deaths among all infant mortalities for selected years:

	
	Year ................ Percent Suffocation
	1992	........................ 3.7%
	1994	........................ 5.9
	1996	........................ 6.7
	1998	........................ 7.7
	2000	....................... 10.9
	2001	....................... 13.5
	2002	....................... 14.5
	2003	....................... 14.2
	2004	....................... 16.3
	

(Source: Scripps Howard News Service study of 40,000 infant mortality records maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)