Safe Sleep Day celebrates a successful Maori strategy

Safe Sleep Day celebrates a successful Maori strategy

The national Maori SUDI (Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy) prevention organisation Whakawhetu says that Safe Sleep Day, 4 December, marks the success of a number of Maori-driven national strategies to bring rates of SUDI down. Safe Sleep Day is a national campaign focused on promoting Safe Sleep practices for babies, so that every sleep is a safe sleep.

“Families who want to sleep in bed with their babies need to use a safe sleeping device. Maori developed the wahakura, which is a woven flax pod that keeps baby safe when they are in bed with adults.

“We estimate that over the last decade thousands of wahakura have been made with whanau Maori around the country. We believe this has contributed to a reduction of 30 percent in the national infant mortality rate in the past five years. As well as ensuring safe sleep for baby, wahakura facilitate a wider conversation with whanau about safe sleeping and Mokopuna Ora.

“Whakawhetu has worked with weavers and community organisations in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Waitemata, Waikato, Tairawhiti, Whanganui, the South Island and Counties Manukau, helping facilitate weaving wananga (weaving workshops), which typically produce around ten wahakura. This has increased accessibility to wahakura and the awareness of Mokopuna Ora significantly.

“We are thrilled with the recent announcement from Ngai Tahu that they will distribute wahakura to the whanau of every newborn on their tribal register, as part of a Safe Sleeping pack. This shows amazing Maori leadership and will contribute to an even greater reduction in SUDI.”

Despite these positive developments, recent Ministry of Health data shows that many whanau Maori are not getting the support they need during early infancy.

“40.7 percent of whanau Maori are not visited by a health professional within the first few weeks of baby’s birth – and this is something they are entitled to. This means they receive no information about SUDI. Even when they are visited, a further 11% of whanau Maori receive no information about SUDI, or have baby’s sleeping space assessed.

“Maori are more at risk of SUDI than any other ethnic population in the country, so this situation is clearly unacceptable. Addressing this issue will be a strategic priority for Whakawhetu.”

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