A Rotary club is paying for dozens of "sleep pods" to help Bay babies sleep safely.
Otumoetai Rotary Club donated $4600 towards buying 45 of the "Pepi-Pod" devices, which rose to prominence when they were used after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
The devices consist of a ventilated food-grade plastic box with a foam mattress, two sets of sheets, a merino wool blanket and some educational materials.
The Otumoetai club's president, John Knowles, gave the cheque to a Bay of Plenty District Health Board representative this week.
Mr Knowles said some of the cash was raised by means including a golf day, while the rest came from a grant.
"One of our members suggested this was a good cause," he said.
Pepi-Pod inventor Stephanie Cowan said research had found that babies who slept with their parents were at higher risk of dying.
Pepi-Pods provided "a zone of protection" around babies when they were with their parents, reducing the risk of smothering.
Between 50 and 60 New Zealand babies died in their sleep each year, with the Bay of Plenty considered to be a high-risk region.
More than half of the babies were suffocated while sharing a bed with parents. Maori babies were eight times more likely to die because of high smoking rates and the custom of bed-sharing.
Most of the nation's health boards used the pods as part of infant safety programmes.
They were being sold on Trade Me yesterday for $145 new, including shipping, or $50 second-hand without shipping.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board core midwife Whitney Haddock said the pods would be supplied to babies in vulnerable environments.
She said babies should sleep on their backs, in their own beds, in a smoke-free environment, with their faces clear of blankets and toys, and with a carer nearby.
Pepi-Pods
1 plastic "pod"
1 foam mattress
2 sheet sets
1 wool blanket
education materials
$145 on Trade Me