Air must get through the tubes of the bagpipes to bring them to life and make music.

Oxygen must get 'through the tubes' to support life

Suffocation deaths can be prevented

Sleep accidents claim many of the 60 New Zealand babies each year who die suddenly as they sleep, and many more around the world. Accidental suffocation is a preventable cause of death. 

There is low awareness across society of how infant development creates vulnerability to certain sleeping positions and conditions. People may know about dangerous locations and what is recommended as a response, but be less clear about the mechanism.

Called 'Through the tubes', we have designed this education, for health and community professionals who work with families. It is a prevention response to the deaths of babies due to oxygen deficiency during pregnancy and during sleep (accidental suffocation).

For Health Professional Safe Sleep Champions

Here is where we support you with materials for your peer education sessions and connect you to each other as a network.

For Child, Youth and Family Safe Sleep Champions 

Here is where we support you with materials for your peer education sessions and connect you to others as the Safe Sleep Champion network.   

For Service Managers         

Here is where we support those managers behind our safe sleep champion network. We may achieve a well trained workforce, but without accountable action on that education, in the form of clear roles, responsibilities, expectations and standards for staff, intervention is likely to be ad hoc and left to a committed few. 'Through the tubes' is support for busy managers, too.

ABC Safe Sleep brief intervention       

'Through the tubes' is as much about systematic action as it is about knowledge. Systematic action is the tool for achieving equity. It ensures no one misses out on standard care. We have developed a simple ABC Safe Sleep brief intervention tool.   

What has already been achieved       

The network of Safe Sleep champions has achieved extraordinary results in recent years. Between 2009 and 2012, when we took a blitz approach through the 'Baby Essentials" programme, 6000 people participated in the education, half in peer facilitated sessions and half in the online option. (see the Report) 

Falling infant mortality       

It is encouraging to see Infant mortality fell to an all time low during 2012 ( from 4.7 to 4.2 / 1000 live birth) (Statistics NZ: March 2012). Most welcomed was news of the rapid drop in Maori deaths during 2012, from 123 to 82 infants. The downward trend has continued the subsequent years and into 2015.