Differences in interpretation of this evidence and/or policy/advice have led to a lack of consensus among researchers and policy makers as to exactly what the message should be. This is especially so for those messages which have an emerging or developing evidence-base, such as shared sleeping, infant wrapping, and dummy use. ĭespite Australia’s national evidence-based health promotion program, inconsistencies exist amid the many forms of advice families receive, with each state and territory’s Health Department developing their own slightly modified policies and guidelines. The current public health Safe Sleeping program contains six key messages: 1) Sleep baby on back 2) Keep head and face uncovered 3) Keep baby smoke free before and after birth 4) Safe sleeping environment night and day 5) Sleep baby in safe cot in parents’ room 6) Breastfeed baby. The key recommendations promulgated are based on the modifiable factors parents and health professionals can influence the most. The development of Australia’s SUDI prevention public health programs and dissemination of the evidence-based Safe Sleeping messages is primarily supported by Red Nose (formally SIDS and Kids), a nationally recognised non-governmental organisation. This has not been the case for all Western countries with some countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom, achieving continued declines in SUDI rates. However, during the last 15 years, the Australian rate reduction has slowed and plateaued (0. In Australia, the initial decline of 85% coincided almost immediately with Australia’s first national Safe Sleeping program in 1991 and is argued to be the only plausible explanation for this reduction (1. This advice is recognised as the main contributor to reduced SUDI rates. Globally, sleep-related infant mortality has fallen dramatically since the first public health prevention campaigns in the 1990s that focused on safe infant sleep and care practices including parent advice to avoid the prone infant sleep position. Given individual vulnerable babies at risk of SUDI cannot currently be identified risk factors amenable to change have been the target of public health campaigns. An Australian SUDI case review found that most SUDI occurred in an unsafe sleeping environment. The relationship between sleep-related infant mortality and modifiable infant care practices is well established, with 90–95% of sudden infant deaths associated with one or more recognised risk factors. SUDI continues to be a major public health concern and remains the leading category of post-neonatal infant death in Australia. Infant mortality rates are widely recognised as key population and child health indicators. Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) is a term used to describe and classify deaths of apparently well infants for whom the cause of death is not immediately obvious and who would be expected to thrive it includes sleep-related infant deaths classified as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asphyxia, undetermined or ill-defined. Modifiable infant care practices are recognised as the most important factors parents and health practitioners can influence in order to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant mortality.
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