Baby's death prompts coroner warning

People continue to overlook the deadly dangers of sharing beds with babies, says a Wellington coroner, after his recent report found the death of a seven day old baby boy was caused by Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) with possible accidental suffocation.

Wellington regional coroner Ian Smith's report said the baby was found not breathing by his mother in a bed shared with her, the father and a two year old child in their Martinborough home in 2010. The family called an ambulance but despite attempts to resuscitate the baby, he died at Masterton Hospital.

Mr Smith said this was "yet again another tragic loss of life" despite coroners and health advisers continually warning against sharing beds with babies.

Most SUDI happens when a baby is asleep in a dangerous sleeping environment, according to Plunket NZ. Common causes are suffocation by bedding or accidental smothering by an adult or child sleeping with the baby.

Lisa Wood, a midwife who worked with the baby's family, said she noticed on one occasion the baby was unsafely placed on a couch with an adult sized pillow but a portacot was made up in the lounge when she visited later.

On the evening of the baby's death, he was not sleeping in a normal bed but a pullout sofa bed that had been modified to take an oversized mattress, along with his family, of Maori descent.

While it is common practice for many families, regardless of ethnicity, to share a bed with a baby, Wairarapa has high rates of SUDI in Maori families, according to Fletcher Beazley, Wairarapa regional adviser at Whakawhetu.

"SUDI disproportionately affects Maori in Wairarapa," he said.

Whakawhetu is a kaupapa Maori organisation dedicated to reducing the rate of SUDI for Maori. It holds workshops about the issue and promotes safe sleeping techniques for babies.

Plunket NZ and Whakawhetu support and encourage alternative methods of sharing a bed with a baby, like pepi-pods and wahakura.

Each year in New Zealand, about 60 babies die from SUDI.

Keeping babies safe

Whakawhetu promotes the PEPE message, which means:

Place baby in their own baby bed in the same room as a caregiver

Eliminate smoking during and after pregnancy

Position baby on their back to sleep

Encourage and support the mother to breastfeed.