EFFINGHAM, Ill. — Over the past decade, fewer and fewer infant deaths have been attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) — the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old.

But public health and safety officials say 21st century science is helping authorities determine a more specific cause of death.

“With forensic advances, we can usually find a cause of death,” said Effingham County Coroner Duane Guffey. “Once in a while, we have infant deaths that can’t be explained, but only one in 30 to 40 infant deaths are attributable to SIDS.

“A lot of these deaths are 100 percent preventable,” Guffey said.

Guffey has had the sad duty of pronouncing dead several infants since being elected coroner in 2012 — including a two-month-old girl last weekend. He said the most common cause of death is when the parent and child sleep together in the same bed, couch or recliner. The child can suffocate in a soft mattress or heavy bedding, he said.

In a recliner, the baby can be safely snuggling one moment and slide into a position that causes suffocation without the parent even waking up until it is too late. Even swaddling an infant to keep her warm can be deadly, Guffey said.

“If you swaddle them too tight, they can suffocate,” he said.

Rebecca Merten, administrator of the Effingham County Health Department, said parental substance abuse can be a factor in an infant death.

“Any sedative drug would cause a parent not to wake up in time to know there is something wrong,” she said.

Heaven Davis of St. Elmo, Illinois found out the hard way that substance use and parenting don’t mix. Davis’ one-year-old died shortly after her first birthday in January 2014 after the mother passed out on the couch from smoking marijuana. While Davis was sleeping, Addison Scott’s older sister put her in the bathtub, where she drowned.

Davis was sentenced to three years in prison. She is up for parole this October.

Merten said the American Academy of Pediatrics has recognized the danger of co-sleeping. But that, she said, doesn’t mean the baby can’t be in the same room as her parents.

“You can have a crib or bassinet right next to the parents’ bed,” she said. “It’s not like you have to isolate the child in another room.”

Merten said it’s also wrong to have the baby in bed with another child.

The health department regularly counsels expectant and new mothers, and Merten said “safe sleeping” is addressed.

The Illinois General Assembly created “child death task forces” throughout the state several years ago. The task forces are multidisciplinary teams that include law enforcement personnel, coroners, investigators from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, representatives from state’s attorney’s offices and even, in some cases, probation officers. Guffey said each member of the task force brings their own expertise to the table.

“Coroners are usually better at death investigation, but police officers have the interview expertise,” he said.

Guffey added that task force members can help each other out with information.

“I have full subpoena powers, but I can’t access DCFS information,” he said. “But the DCFS agent can.”

Guffey said it’s not easy to handle the death of an infant.

“I have a firm belief that God is in control,” he said. “But I know of a couple of cases where the victim looked a lot like the investigator’s own child, so they stepped back and removed themselves from the investigation.

“The best thing to do is not get personally involved,” he said. “It’s very important that we do our jobs to the best of our abilities.”

Guffey said the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, as well as the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System offers trained chaplains to lend an ear in tough cases.

Merten said the role of health departments is prevention — giving parents the tools to avoid risking tragedy. But Effingham County isn’t the only county to provide such assistance.

Nurse Jolyn Bigard of the Jasper County Health Department said her office also offers prevention advice.

“We tell parents to always lay the baby on her back, have nothing extra in the crib and make sure the crib is properly set up,” Bigard said, adding that she also advises parents against co-sleeping.

“Over the last eight to 10 years, we have made people more aware of the dangers of co-sleeping,” she said.

Bill Grimes writes for the Effingham (Ill.) Daily News.