Care of bereaved parents after sudden infant death

About 340 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly in the UK every year (Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths 2005a), and one of the recommendations made in the Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry final report (Kennedy 2001) was that infants found dead or moribund at home must be taken to emergency departments (EDs) for attempted resuscitation or further investigation. Sudden and unexpected infant death is one of the most stressful events that ED staff can experience, however, and they often lack training in this area even though they are keen to undertake such preparation (Levetown 2004, Ross-Adjie et al 2007). This article therefore discusses the guidelines on providing bereavement care to parents and best practice in EDs.