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.

11,357 babies saved (1)
$18 million invested in research to date
85% 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*.

The following are key figures on births, perinatal deaths, and sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in Australia*:

There were 303,029 births in Australia in 2018 (3)

There were 2,834 perinatal deaths (3), including 718 neonatal deaths (deaths within 28 days of birth) and 2,116 stillbirths.

In 2018 there were 112 deaths classified as sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), which includes sudden infant death and fatal sleeping accidents (1).

66 children aged 0-4 years died from drowning, accidents and poisoning (4).

References:

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019). 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2018. ABS, Canberra Includes calculations prepared by Red Nose and confirmed by the ABS.

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003). SIDS in Australia 1981-2000: A statistical overview. ABS, Canberra & Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001 - ) .3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2001-. ABS, Canberra

3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021. Stillbirths and neonatal deaths in Australia 2017 and 2018. Perinatal statistics series no. 38. Cat. no. PER 115. Canberra: AIHW.

4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019). GRIM (General Record of Incidence of Mortality). Books 2017: All external causes of morbidity and mortality. Canberra: AIHW. Note: Data for all external causes of mortality are from the ICD-10 (V01-Y98).

5. Explanatory note from the ABS: “Data with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components”.

* the latest data available for 2018.