This graphic describes federally recommended procedures to keep babies safe when put to bed. (SHNS graphic by Chris Campbell)

Q: What is this project about?
A: Scripps Howard News Service, a news wire serving 400 daily newspapers in the United States and Canada, is conducting a national reporting project examining how effectively America investigates the deaths of infants. Every year, between 4,000 and 5,000 children less than 1 year of age die suddenly and mysteriously. Oddly, although infants still die under mysterious circumstances, reports of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have declined by more than 50 percent in the last 15 years.

Q: Why was this project begun?

The determination that a baby died of SIDS means that a coroner or medical examiner could find no other cause of death after an autopsy, examination of the death scene and a review of the medical history of the baby and its mother.
Experts don't know what causes SIDS. But they agree SIDS is not:
-- The result of homicide or accidental suffocation or strangulation.
-- The result of neglected illness, accidents or abuse, or the Munchausen by Proxy syndrome, in which parents harm their children so the parents get attention from doctors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines SIDS as: "The sudden death of an infant less than 1 year of age that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history."

SIDS is frequently described as a diagnosis of exclusion. If no other cause of death can be determined for an infant, medical authorities are advised by the CDC to issue a diagnosis of SIDS.

A look at sudden infant death through history.

1000 B.C. -- In Egypt, women found to have accidentally smothered a baby as they slept together are condemned to hold the dead infant for three days as punishment.

600 B.C. -- In the Bible’s First Book of Kings, the prophet Jeremiah tells of how King Solomon settles a dispute between two women over custody of a baby boy after the other one had lost her baby "when she laid on him in her sleep."

BY LEE BOWMAN

Despite decades of research, no definite cause of SIDS is known. Researchers believe that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome probably has more than one cause, and that there may be different causes of SIDS from one baby to another.

Here are some of the possible causes of the syndrome that have been discussed and researched over the years:

Ammonia -- A theory that ammonia gas from urine in wet diapers builds up in the crib and affects respiratory tract and breathing.

Here are some sources of additional information and support for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

BY THOMAS HARGROVE

One in every five American adults knows a family that lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Terms surrounding sudden infant deaths:

Apnea -- Episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep, either caused by some obstruction of the airway or for some unexplained reason. Often confused with SIDS, but there is no definite proof of a link.

Arousal response -- Awakening in response to environmental stimulation, from a loud noise to difficulty breathing. This response appears to be blocked or impaired in SIDS babies.

By LEE BOWMAN

It starts with a phone call about a small life suddenly ended. A baby found lifeless, unable to be revived.

Almost all of the more than 4,000 sudden and unexpected infant deaths in this country each year prompt a detailed investigation into the circumstances and an autopsy.