Sudden infant and child death as a cultural phenomenon: a Tlaxcalan case study

THE Sudden Death of infants and young children (SICD) constitutes a recurring problem in all societies. In contemporary industrialized societies, many factors known to cause these deaths have been clarified and controlled. Yet, as an outcome of such things as unrecognized disease, accidents, so-called crib death, and parental neglect or abuse, the prevalence of SICD remains relatively stable even in contemporary Western societies (Adams et al. 1990; Campbell 1989; Kyle et al. 1990). The pathophysiology of these human tragedies has received much attention. However, the social, cultural, and psychiatric implications have been relatively neglected. In large part this is because in our secular culture these deaths are explained naturalistically; namely, as the result of disease, biological anomalies, or physiological failures, the meaning of which is not attributed to human or other worldly intervention. A result of this is that such deaths are usually deprived of a framework of meaning that has spiritual and existential connection to everyday affairs. An impersonal, natural way of explaining SICD often deprives the mourner of a meaningful cultural rationale that can facilitate emotional release and spiritual significance.