Facts and Figures

We are making significant progress towards our goal of zero preventable deaths of babies and children during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood.

11,122 babies saved (1)
$18 million invested in research to date
80% reduction in sudden infant deaths since 1989 (2)

But there is still more work to do – 3,000 babies and young children died suddenly and unexpectedly in the last year*.

6 babies are stillborn and 2 die within 28 days of birth

Types of infant loss

Neonatal Death: death occurring after live birth to 28 days post-delivery.

Stillbirth: death occurring from 20 weeks gestation prior to birth with a weight of 400g or more. Stillbirth may also include late term abortion after 20 weeks gestation

In 2019, there were 303,054 babies born to 298,567 women
There were 2,897 perinatal deaths (less than 1% of babies born).
Of these deaths, just over 75% were stillbirths (2,183) and 25% (714) were neonatal deaths(2).

Sudden infant death in Infants (SIDS)

SIDS is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of an infant under one year of age with an onset of a fatal episode occurring during sleep, that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation.

In 2020, 25 deaths were attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) across Australia(3).

QLD - 11
NSW - 2
VIC – 12

No data is available in other states or territories

Sudden & Unexpected deaths in Infants across Australia (SUDI)

What is SUDI & how is it different to SIDS?

SUDI is a broad term used to describe the sudden and unexpected death of a baby for which the cause is not immediately obvious. SUDI includes deaths from SIDS as well death from other unexpected causes such as drowning.

In 2020, there were 100 SUDI deaths across Australia(4).

QLD - 31
NSW - 31
VIC - 19
WA – 13

No data is available in other states or territories

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander infants

In 2019, Indigenous Australian women were almost two times more likely to experience perinatal death than non-Indigenous women(2)

Since 2010, there has been a 22% reduction in the overall infant mortality rate for Indigenous Australian infants.

* Estimate uses ABS Causes of Death 2020 data to determine the difference in expected and actual deaths if the death rate had remained the same as when the campaign was introduced in 1989

** Change of 5% to previous years’ data due to ABS data review and reconciliation

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and welfare. Stillbirths and neonatal deaths Canberra: AIHW; 2021 [cited 2021 Dec 6th]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/ mothers-babies/stillbirths-and-neonatal-deaths

2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Canberra: AIHW; 2021.

3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Causes of Death, Australia Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2021 [cited 2022 February 7th]. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latestrelease#data-download.

4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Deaths, Australia 2020 [cited 2022 February 7th]. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/deathsaustralia/latest-release#infants.

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Historical Data