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Get to them as young as possible.
That’s one of the messages coming out of a seminar on ways to cut down on the incidence of sudden unexpected death in infancy among Maori.
Katherine Clarke, the chief executive of national advocacy group Whakawhetu SUDI Prevention, says the chance of a Maori baby dying of SUDI is five times that of other ethnicities.
She says promotion of the woven sleeping pod or wahakura has proved an effective way to reach young mothers.
A similar Maori-driven approach could increase the number of young mums who take up the support available under the WellChild-Tamariki Ora Programme, which many Maori babies still miss out on.
"By 12 months we have seen an improvement in the overall enrollment of Maori babies in Well Child Tamariki Ora but the crucial time is at four to six weeks and then up to four months, We're just not getting that transition period happening," she says.
Katherine Clarke says the Maori Narratives of Poverty and Resilience report released at last week’s seminar highlighted the importance of Maori cultural values to well-being.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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