Safe sleeping pods to reduce sudden unexpected infant death
A lifesaving program is enabling safe sleep and reducing the number of Aboriginal babies dying from Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infancy (SUDI).
Around 150 safe-sleeping pods are being distributed across Adelaide as part of the South Australian Pepi Pod Program by Preventive Health SA in partnership with Nunkuwarrin Yunti. The program has been introduced as part of a $42,000 investment to reduce the incidence of SUDI in Aboriginal babies.
The Pepi Pod is a plastic bassinet with air pockets and a fitted mattress that has been designed to safely let a baby sleep in the same bed as their parents. Despite co-sleeping being one of the highest risk factors in SUDI, many parents let their baby sleep in their bed. Co-sleeping is also culturally common in Aboriginal communities.
Our Pepi Pod program aims to allow mothers to continue sleeping beside their baby, which we know is important among our Aboriginal community, but allows them to do so in a way that keeps their baby safe," Melissa Bradley, Executive Director of Population Health at Preventive Health SA, said.
The three-year program allows Aboriginal families to access a Pepi Pod, as well as culturally appropriate safe sleep education. "While the pods themselves are an important tool, so too is educating parents on why safe sleep is vital and how simple things like having pillows and loose bedding in a baby’s sleep space can be fatal," Melissa added.
The new initiative follows data from the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee highlighting that Aboriginal infants in South Australia are almost four times more likely to die from SUDI than non-Aboriginal infants.
The South Australian Safe Infant Sleeping Standards, released in December 2022, found that over 2015-2020, there had been on average eight sleep-related infant deaths annually in South Australia.
Most of the deaths happen in sleep environments, with almost all cases involving at least one safe sleeping risk. Unsafe bedding is the most common risk, attributed to almost three-quarters of all infant sleep related deaths in South Australia. When putting a baby to sleep, it is important to ensure there are no suffocation hazards, including toys, pillows and loose blankets.
Other risk factors for SUDI include a low birth weight, premature birth, the baby not being placed on their back to sleep and exposure to cigarette smoke.
Similar trials in New Zealand and Queensland have resulted in reductions in SUDI. In New Zealand, there has been a 29 per cent reduction in infant mortality since they introduced their Pepi Pod program.
