SummarySudden infant death syndrome is a leading cause of postneonatal mortality in the developed countries The incidence of the syndrome is about 1 5 1000 live births The difficulty to diagnose the syndrome emerges from the necessity of necropsy Although various maternal neonatal and postneonatal factors are thought to be responsible recently the most debatable issues are maternal cigarette smoking absence of breast feeding and the prone sleeping position Key words: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Postneonatal Mortality Apnea

Sudden infant death syndrome is a leading cause of postneonatal mortality in the developed countries The incidence of the syndrome is about 1 5 1000 live births The difficulty to diagnose the syndrome emerges from the necessity of necropsy Although various maternal neonatal and postneonatal factors are thought to be responsible recently the most debatable issues are maternal cigarette smoking absence of breast feeding and the prone sleeping position Key words: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Postneonatal Mortality Apnea