A grandparent's vital role.

New parents often look to others for advice on how to best settle and sleep their baby. The wisdom, love and influence Grandparents have, make their role vital.

To reduce the number of babies dying each year we need grandparents to weave their wisdom and speak out about sleeping babies flat and on their backs and being smokefree in pregnancy.

How many people can you speak with and influence?

Grandparents - Weaving your Wisdom

A warm welcome to this project and the hope it offers, as grandparents update and support each other to influence parents and families with safe infant sleep practices.

"Weaving your wisdom" rests on one's belief, value and respect of Grandparents and their ability to influence the protection of babies.

The Harakeke: has symbolic meaning for Maori as it represents whanau. The outer leaves symbolise the extended family. It is only the outer (older) leaves that are harvested and used (for example in weaving).

The Wisdom: Grandparents have experience, they have weathered the storms of life; they have knowledge, they have meaning; they have purpose; and they have influence.

The Weaving: requires the interlacing; the connecting. Weaving your wisdom in this project asks you, as Grandparents, to connect with others and speak out about protecting babies.

Thank you for being part of this project. May you find meaning and enjoyment in this experience.

Just a little history...

Twenty five years ago 250 babies died every year from cot death/sudden unexpected death
It was a mystery; no one knew why
Research (based on evidence) is teaching us; we now know the risk factors
... but still 60 babies continue to die every year with known risk factors present

Falling infant death rates in NZ 1940 -2010

Article: Babies, grandparents and safe sleep.

Leaflet: "It didn't happen in my day"

Talk Card: Through the tubes - for grandparents by grandparents