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New Zealand's SIDS Prevention Program and Reduction in Infant Mortality

Department of Public Health, Wellington School of Medicine, P.O. Box 7343, Wellington South, New Zealand

Stephan Caldis

Shirley L. Tonkin

New Zealand has suffered a very high mortality rate from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as "crib death" or "cot death." This prompted the development of the New Zealand Cot Death Study, a case-controlled epidemiological study. The preliminary findings of this study identified three risk behaviors potentially amenable to modification: prone sleeping position of the infant, maternal smoking, and not breastfeeding. These findings were discussed with the major stakeholders of child health. The Department of Health coordinated the development of a health education SIDS prevention program. Since the Help Prevent Cot Death Programme was launched in February 1991, the rate of total infant deaths, which was 10.1/1000 live births in 1987, fell to 7.6/1000 live births in 1991. The SIDS rate fell from 4.2/1000 in 1987 to 2.5/1000 in 1991. It is suggested that the described health education program had a significant influence on this improvement in infant survival.

Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 22, No. 2, 162-171 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/109019819502200205


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