Sudden unexpected death in infancy

DR CHRISTINE MCINTOSH 

General Practitioner Liaison CM Health and Senior Lecturer, Department of Paediatrics, Child and Youth Health, The University of Auckland TINA HIGGINS 

SUDI Prevention Project Manager

Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) numbers in the Counties Manukau Health region have spiked over 2019 and this has particularly affected Maaori.

Higher numbers have been observed in other parts of the country too, and a national review of SUDI is underway, led by the Ministry of Health. The local Child and Youth Mortality Review Group is reviewing cases in Counties Manukau and will make recommendations to the maternal and child health sector on opportunities to improve SUDI prevention care.

Wahakura weaving waananga

During 2019/2020, CM Health funded two wahakura weaving programmes. The programmes were attended by a number of hapuu maamaa, as well as others interested in learning to weave a wahakura for their hapuu whaanau, and participants interested in supporting the weaving workforce by providing wahakura. For many Maaori whaanau, reconnecting to maatauranga Maaori has been at the heart of their participation in these waananga.

Wahakura waananga aim to deliver a cultural enrichment programme, with the outcome of delivering an appropriate safe sleep bed for babies. The waananga are embedded in traditional skills and tikanga, while promoting whaanau engagement in accessing health and social services to improve health outcomes for babies, women and whaanau.

The photo (below left) shows whaanau who attended the September 2019 waananga learning to weave their own wahakura for their expected peepee. The waananga was held at Puukaki Marae in Maangere and led by local master weaver Shelley Bell.

Survive and Thrive 2025

CM Health has worked with midwives, consumers and community providers in the Counties Manukau area to co-design and develop a SUDI protection wrap-around care programme – Survive and Thrive 2025.

Entry to the programme is through the Survive and Thrive 2025 web-based tool, which includes a safe sleep calculator for SUDI risk assessment and enables SUDI protection care for whaanau to be coordinated through South Auckland community providers.

Training and testing of the programme with a small group of community lead maternity carer midwives and the Smokefree team occurred from October to December 2019. Roll out was planned for 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic it was postponed.

Despite this setback, 510 SUDI assessments were completed using the Survive and Thrive tool, mainly by the Smokefree service for hapuu maamaa engaged with them. This resulted in 25 referrals for AWHI Healthy Housing, 210 requests for a wahakura or Pepi Pod baby bed, 207 requests for WellChild Tamariki Ora SUDI key-worker care and three referrals for a Family Start social worker.