Letter: Cot death mysteries

Sir: The dramatic headlines which heralded the report of Professor Sir Roy Meadow which was published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood has highlighted a very small incidence of unnatural death in babies to the detriment of thousands of parents whose babies have died a cot death ("Some `cot deaths' may be murders", 7 January). Professor Meadow found that during a period of 18 years 42 cases reported as cot death were unnatural. In that same period there was a total of nearly 25,000 cot deaths.

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths which funds research, information and support, will continue its work to find the causes of cot death and continue to offer support to the thousands of parents who, through the unfortunate use of headlines, will experience renewed grief, pain and anguish.

Rev Fr RON ROBINSON

Chairman

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Death

London SW1