Wahakura policy good for all families   16 Sep 2014

Wahakura policy good for all families

Whakawhetu, a SUDI prevention programme for Maori was delighted with the Green Party’s policy announcement of a ‘Wahakura welcome for every newborn’. Maori infants have more than four times the SUDI death rates of non-Maori and non-Pacific babies. The use of wahakura to reduce the incidence of SUDI (Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy) is a major public health project for Dr David Tipene-Leach, academic lead of Whakawhetu.

Dr Tipene-Leach is presenting the results of the University of Otago KISS (Kahungunu Infant Safe Sleep) study at the upcoming ISPID (International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death) conference in Amsterdam this week. The study demonstrated that the wahakura, a new concept in modern infant care, is as safe as the standard bassinet in normal use.

“Because wahakura can be used on or in the bed, rather than direct bedsharing which is known to have some risk if the mother smoked in pregnancy, SUDI risk is reduced ” says Dr Tipene-Leach.

Spokesperson for Whakawhetu, Jeanine Tamati-Paratene believes the policy would also enhance the development of skills, knowledge and understanding of traditional Maori weaving practice in the community - cementing something fundamentally kaupapa Maori within both whanau Maori and non-Maori, “Wahakura are a precious gift to any family, a taonga which will not only make every sleep safer for babies, but also form part of a stronger SUDI message - to support women to stop smoking in pregnancy, breastfeed and always place baby on their back to sleep.”

On December 5th Whakawhetu launch their annual Safe Sleep Day - another opportunity to encourage families to make safe sleep choices for their infants, like the use of wahakura.

Whakawhetu, National SUDI Prevention for Maori

The University of Auckland.

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