Published Online First

Background Sudden and unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC) of a healthy newborn infant is a rare event, which carries a high risk of mortality and signifi cant neurodisability in survivors. An underlying condition can be found in 60 % of cases who undergo detailed postmortem but in the remainder there are important associations with prone position, breast feeding and primiparous status. The authors undertook a prospective study to ascertain the population incidence of SUPC in the UK. Methods Cases were referred through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit reporting scheme over a 13-month period. Infants were at ≥37 weeks of gestation, had an Apgar score of ≥8 at 5 min, collapse