Massachusetts To Issue Infant Death Guidelines

New guidelines will routinely alert social workers to investigate all unexplained infant deaths in Massachusetts for signs of abuse and neglect.

The Boston Globe reported Monday that the guidelines are scheduled to go out to police, firefighters and hospital workers by the end of the year.

The recommendations are meant to improve investigations of deaths attributed to Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, the leading cause of mortality among children between the ages of one month and one year in Massachusetts.

The recommendations will apply to other unexplained child deaths and are intended to assure all infant deaths are reported to the Department of Children and Families.

Some activists involved in the prevention of unexpected infant deaths say the guidelines could unfairly expose grieving parents to unnecessary investigations.