'Lowest ever' infant death rate

Deaths in the first year have fallen away

Infant mortality is at its lowest rate since records began in England and Wales, according to figures released on Thursday.

In addition, the number of cot deaths has also fallen, reflecting the success of safety campaigns.

In 2000, 3,399 babies died before their first birthday, a rate of 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.

This compares to 5.8 per 1,000 in 1999.

Overall, however the birth rate is still dipping dramatically.

There were almost 3% fewer births in 2000 than in the previous year, a total of 604,441.

Cot death fall

In 2000, there were 243 sudden infant deaths, compared with 279 in the previous year, a drop of 13%.

When checked against the total number of babies born in those years, the rate fell from 0.45 per 1,000 live births in 1999 to 0.40 per 1,000 in 2000.

Cot Death: How to reduce the risk

Put babies to sleep on their backs

Don't smoke in pregnancy - both mother and father

No smoking in the baby's room

Don't let babies get too hot or cold

Put baby to sleep with its feet at the foot of the cot (to stop it wriggling under the covers)

Keep baby's head uncovered in bed

If baby is unwell, seek medical advice promptly

The improvement means that the downward trend throughout the past few years is continuing.

The 10-year-campaign to encourage mothers to put their babies to sleep on their backs have been widely credited for this.

A spokesman for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said that the charity was "celebrating the success" of the campaign.

However, she added: "There are still a number of babies dying every week, and we have got to carry on getting the message across to mothers."

The Office of National Statistics analysed whether there were any similarities between cot death babies.

They found that the death rate was highest for babies weighing less than 2kg () - 12 time more than for those born weighing 3.5kg or more.

Young mothers, and those bringing up the baby on their own appeared to be more at risk of suffering a cot death.

Mothers who registered the birth of the baby without a named father were six times more likely to lose the baby through a cot death than married couples.

In addition, mothers with three or more children were 30% more likely to lose a subsequent child to cot death than those bringing up their first baby.

The advice given by FSID on how to reduce the risk of cot death remains the same - parents are urged to put their babies to sleep on their backs, and smoking by parents both in pregnancy and afterwards near the child is discouraged.

Baby deaths at or around the time of birth stayed the same - 8.2 deaths per 1,000 births.

The number of babies stillborn was 3,203 in 2000.