It takes a village to raise a child and a village to support parents of newborn.
Safe Sleep Day is this Friday 3 December and we’re calling on kāinga to rally around parents of newborns to give them the rest and support they need so they can keep baby safe.
That’s the message of a new campaign, My Baby’s Village, which launched this week. Te Hiringa Hauora is part of a cross sector group supporting the campaign.
The campaign aims to raise awareness across Pasifika communities about Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI) and to encourage families to commit to village support systems to help parents of newborns.
The campaign website includes ideas that family members can do to support parents, from practical activities such as preparing a meal to emotional support such as being available to talk and encouraging parents to rest.
Every day this week video and stories of families are being shared on the campaign’s Facebook page and Instagram.
Te Hiringa Hauora has also developed resources to promote the importance of good sleep for pēpē and tamariki aged 0 to 2 years. You can read more here. You can also find them on the My Baby’s Village webpage: Resources - My Baby's Village (mybabysvillage.co.nz)
The resources include videos with sleep tips from whānau who’ve been there, and sleep lullabies which are available in te reo Māori, Tongan, Samoan and English.