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

Coroners in 11 counties have discovered that, about three-quarters of the time, sudden infant deaths are actually avoidable accidental smotherings when adults co-sleep with their babies or place infants in overstuffed sofas and heavily blanketed beds. (SHNS graphic by Chris Campbell)

Graphic shows how Child Death Review programs increase the detection rates for infant homicides and accidental suffocations. (SHNS graphic by Chris Campbell)

By Scripps Howard News Service

These 11 counties lead the nation in the detection of accidental infant asphyxiation, according to an analysis of more than 20,000 infant deaths from Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2004, by Scripps Howard News Service. Listed below are the total number of sudden infant deaths and the percentage of these deaths that were diagnosed as accidental suffocation or strangulation, usually because children were placed in unsafe sleeping environments.

	1. Oakland County, Mich. ...... 58 ... 88%
	2. Saginaw County, Mich.	...... 15 ... 87

Coroners in most counties across America rarely diagnose that infants die from accidental asphyxiation, although a small but growing number report that is really the cause most of the time. The following is a county-by-county breakdown of how 20,195 infant deaths were diagnosed from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2004. The percentages show the proportion of infant deaths that were declared to be the result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, of "undetermined" causes or actually of accidental suffocation because adults co-sleep with infants or babies are placed in unsafe beds.

Coroners in most states across America rarely diagnose that infants die from accidental asphyxiation, although a small but growing number report that is really the cause most of the time. The following is a state-by-state breakdown of how 20,195 infant deaths were diagnosed from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2004. The percentages show the proportion of infant deaths that were declared to be the result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, of "undetermined" causes or actually of accidental suffocation because adults co-sleep with infants or babies are placed in unsafe beds.

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

A map of the 48 contiguous United States shows which states have local or state Death Review Boards. A Scripps Howard News Service study has found that states with aggressive networks of Child Death Review boards are much more likely than other states to detect infant homicides and accidental suffocations. (Graphic by Tom Hargrove, SHNS)

The "Saving Babies: Exposing Sudden Infant Death in America" reporting project by Scripps Howard News Service has found that states with aggressive networks of Child Death Review boards are much more likely than other states to detect infant homicides and accidental suffocations. The following show whether each state has no child death review, state review only, local review only or both state and local review.

	Alabama ................ Local
	Alaska ................. State
	Arizona ................ Both
	Arkansas ............... State
	California ............. Local

The following are the number of infant homicides reported by each major county during the five-year period from Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2004, the total number of sudden infant deaths reported during that period and the percentage of all sudden infant deaths that were found to be homicides.

	
	County .................. Homicides . Total .. Rate
	Baldwin County, AL .............. 0 .... 2 .... 0.0
	Calhoun County, AL .............. 0 ... 18 .... 0.0
	Etowah County, AL ............... 0 .... 5 .... 0.0
	Jefferson County, AL ............ 5 ... 76 .... 6.6