Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) is a charitable organisation aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health. FSID fulfils these aims by:

* funding research
* supporting families whose babies have died suddenly and unexpectedly
* disseminating information on infant health, baby care and sudden infant deaths to health professionals and the general public, and
* working with professionals to improve investigations when a baby dies.

Services offered by FSID

* Helpline for parents, carers and health professionals and bereaved families.
* A wide range of publications and resources on reducing the risk of cot death and safe baby care, available from the website [http://www.fsid.org.uk www.fsid.org.uk]
* A network of trained befrienders to support bereaved families
* A phone card to enable bereaved parents to call our Helpline free of charge
* A busy programme of training, events and Family Days Out throughout the UK
* The Care of Next Infant (CONI) Scheme, with the NHS, to support bereaved families when they have subsequent babies.

FSID operates throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As well as the team in head office there are also eight Regional Development Officers who actively promote FSID's campaigns across the country.

History of the Foundation

Over a third of a century ago - in 1971 - a meeting was convened in Cambridge as a result of one grandmother's search to find out why her baby grandson had died suddenly and unexpectedly. This gathering led to the founding of the world's first organisation devoted to research, information and support in the field of infant deaths.

Since FSID teamed up with the Department of Heath to launch the campaign to reduce the risk of cot death in 1991, the UK cot death rate has fallen by 75%, and has been hailed one of the most successful public health campaigns ever, estimated to have saved more than 20,000 lives.

FSID has gone on to become one of the world's leading authorities on cot death, the UK's largest funder of medical research into sudden infant death, the main source of support for bereaved families and a major information provider.

External links

* [http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4123625 Reduce the Risk] leaflet produced by the Department of Health