46 babies died from SUDI in 2019, up from 37 deaths in 2018.

Here are the key findings from our Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) surveillance report: 

  • 46 babies died from SUDI in 2019, up from 37 deaths the previous year. There has been no improvement in SUDI rates since 2012.
  • Pacific and Māori babies had five times the rate of SUDI as European/Other babies in 2015–19.
  • Babies of younger mothers (younger than 25 years) had higher SUDI rates than babies born to mothers in older age groups.
  • The SUDI rate for babies living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas (NZdep 2013 quintile 5) was more than seven times as high as babies in the least deprived areas (quintile 1).

You can read the full surveillance report here.