Unexpected Death in Childhood

Peter Sidebotham is a Consultant Senior Lecturer in Child Health at the University of Warwick. His main clinical interests are in child protection, sudden unexpected death in infancy and child development and disability. During seven years in Bristol, Dr Sidebotham helped to build up an internationally-acclaimed clinical and academic service for sudden unexpected deaths in infancy. Since moving to Warwickshire, he has built on this experience to work with colleagues in developing a local service of responding to unexpected childhood deaths. He is a council member with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths and sits on the child protection standing committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Dr Sidebotham is the director of the Warwick Advanced Course in the Management of Unexpected Childhood Death. He is heading up a research team with ongoing research into chi8ld death review processes. Peter Fleming is Professor of Infant Health and Developmental Physiology at the University of Bristol. His clinical practice is in the fields o newborn intensive care, developmental assessment and investigation and care of children with sleep-related disorders, particularly involving breathing. His research is in the areas of developmental physiology, mother/baby interactions (particularly during sleep) and large-scale studies of factors contribut98ng to sudden death in infants. He also has a particular clinical and research interest in the provision of bereavement care to parents after the death of a baby or child. He is a world leader in research into sudden unexpected death in infancy and has published extensively on this and other topics. He has won numerous awards for his work, including a CBE awarded for services to the understanding and prevention of cot deaths. Professor Fleming is a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Neonatal Society, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, the British Sleep Society and the Paediatric Intensive Care Society.

• Foreword viiPreface ixA Note on Terminology xiiiList of Contributors xvAcknowledgements xixI Understanding Childhood Death 11 A Family’s Journey 3Ann Chalmers2 Childhood Deaths in Context 10Peter Sidebotham, Peter Fleming3 Natural Causes of Unexpected Childhood Deaths 25Peter Fleming, Peter Sidebotham4 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 41Peter Blair5 Deaths from Unintentional Injuries 61Jo Sibert, Peter Sidebotham6 Fatal Child Maltreatment 75Peter SidebothamII Responding When a Child Dies 957 Responding to Unexpected Child Deaths 97Peter Sidebotham, Peter Fleming8 Police Investigation in Unexpected Childhood Deaths 132John Fox9 The Paediatric Post-Mortem Examination 154Phil Cox10 Supporting Families 170Alison Stewart, Ann DentIII Learning Lessons 20311 Reviewing Child Deaths 205Martin Ward Platt12 Serious Case Reviews 232Paul Tudor, Peter SidebothamAppendices1 Emergency Department Flow Chart and Checklist 2522 History Proforma 2563 Physical Examination Proforma 2594 Laboratory Investigations 2605 Scene Examination Proforma 2636 Resources for Bereaved Adults 2657 Resources for Professionals 2718 Practical Information for Families 2739 Opportunities to Be with Their Child 27910 Creating Footprints, Photographs and Mementoes 28111 A Framework to Guide Visiting 28412 Child Bereavement Network Belief Statement 29013 Local Case Discussion Proforma 29114 Child Death Review Core Dataset 29415 CDRT Proforma for Analysis 30116 Tools for Developing a Child Death Review Team 304References 310Index 339