Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- 1 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Definitions
- 2 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: An Overview
- 3 Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood: An Overview
- 4 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: History
- 5 Responding to Unexpected Child Deaths
- 6 The Role of Death Review Committees
- 7 Parental Perspectives
- 8 Parental Grief
- 9 Promoting Evidence-Based Public Health Recommendations to Support Reductions in Infant and Child Mortality: The Role of National Scientific Advisory Groups
- 10 Risk Factors and Theories
- 11 Shared Sleeping Surfaces and Dangerous Sleeping Environments
- 12 Preventive Strategies for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 13 The Epidemiology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths: Diagnostic Shift and other Temporal Changes
- 14 Future Directions in Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy Research
- 15 Observational Investigations from England: The CESDI and SWISS Studies
- 16 An Australian Perspective
- 17 A South African Perspective
- 18 A United Kingdom Perspective
- 19 A United States Perspective
- 20 A Scandinavian Perspective
- 21 Neonatal Monitoring: Prediction of Autonomic Regulation at 1 Month from Newborn Assessments
- 22 Autonomic Cardiorespiratory Physiology and Arousal of the Fetus and Infant
- 23 The Role of the Upper Airway in SIDS and Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths and the Importance of External Airway-Protective Behaviors
- 24 The Autopsy and Pathology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 25 Natural Diseases Causing Sudden Death in Infancy and Early Childhood
- 26 Brainstem Neuropathology in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 27 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Sleep, and the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Respiratory Network
- 28 Neuropathology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Hypothalamus
- 29 Abnormalities of the Hippocampus in Sudden and Unexpected Death in Early Life
- 30 Cytokines, Infection, and Immunity
- 31 The Genetics of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 32 Biomarkers of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Risk and SIDS Death
- 33 Animal Models: Illuminating the Pathogenesis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
17 - A South African Perspective
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 July 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- 1 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Definitions
- 2 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: An Overview
- 3 Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood: An Overview
- 4 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: History
- 5 Responding to Unexpected Child Deaths
- 6 The Role of Death Review Committees
- 7 Parental Perspectives
- 8 Parental Grief
- 9 Promoting Evidence-Based Public Health Recommendations to Support Reductions in Infant and Child Mortality: The Role of National Scientific Advisory Groups
- 10 Risk Factors and Theories
- 11 Shared Sleeping Surfaces and Dangerous Sleeping Environments
- 12 Preventive Strategies for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 13 The Epidemiology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths: Diagnostic Shift and other Temporal Changes
- 14 Future Directions in Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy Research
- 15 Observational Investigations from England: The CESDI and SWISS Studies
- 16 An Australian Perspective
- 17 A South African Perspective
- 18 A United Kingdom Perspective
- 19 A United States Perspective
- 20 A Scandinavian Perspective
- 21 Neonatal Monitoring: Prediction of Autonomic Regulation at 1 Month from Newborn Assessments
- 22 Autonomic Cardiorespiratory Physiology and Arousal of the Fetus and Infant
- 23 The Role of the Upper Airway in SIDS and Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths and the Importance of External Airway-Protective Behaviors
- 24 The Autopsy and Pathology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 25 Natural Diseases Causing Sudden Death in Infancy and Early Childhood
- 26 Brainstem Neuropathology in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 27 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Sleep, and the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Respiratory Network
- 28 Neuropathology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Hypothalamus
- 29 Abnormalities of the Hippocampus in Sudden and Unexpected Death in Early Life
- 30 Cytokines, Infection, and Immunity
- 31 The Genetics of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- 32 Biomarkers of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Risk and SIDS Death
- 33 Animal Models: Illuminating the Pathogenesis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Summary
Introduction
South Africa, at the southern tip of the African continent, is often referred to as “a world in one country” — a multicultural, biodiverse country with a vibrant economy. It is home to eight World Heritage Sites and seven different biomes. The country is divided into nine provinces, each with its own legislature, premier, and executive council. Eleven official languages are recognized (1).
The country covers some 1,219,602 km2 and is home to around 55.91 million people, of which close to 11% are under 4 years of age. The infant mortality rate is estimated at 33.7 per 1,000 live births (2016), a figure which has seen a steady decline from around 48.2 per 1,000 live births in 2002. Similarly, the under-5 mortality rate declined from 70.8 child deaths per 1,000 live births to 44.4 child deaths per 1,000 live births between 2002 and 2016 (2). Despite the decline in these rates over the years, South Africa is still faced with an immense challenge if it wishes to decrease the high death rate in infants. Investigation into unexpected deaths in children are complicated by multiple factors, however, including a significant variation in population density in different regions of the country, a lack of standardized national death investigation protocols, language and culture barriers, and a paucity of resources and funding for medico-legal death investigation and qualified forensic pathologists, especially in the rural regions of the country.
It is nearly impossible to understand the medico-legal death investigation process in South Africa without being mindful of the political history and development of the country, specifically the most recent 100 years or so. The South African political arena is most significantly marked by the process of segregation and the ideology of apartheid, which was consolidated after the 1948 general election, won by the National Party. Government regulated the job market, often with only the white minority being allowed skilled work opportunities. Legislation culminated in the Natives (Urban Areas) Act 1923, entrenching urban segregation. Pass laws controlled African mobility.
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- SIDS Sudden Infant and Early Childhood DeathThe past, the present and the future, pp. 375 - 394Publisher: The University of Adelaide PressPrint publication year: 2018