A new report on infant deaths says socio-economic factors rather than ethnicity may be behind higher rates of mortality among Maori babies.
The Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee is responsible for reviewing stillbirths after 20 weeks' gestation and the deaths of babies up to 28 days old.
Its chair, Cindy Farquhar, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Auckland University, told Waatea News that it's the fourth such study of clinical data and that clear risk factors are emerging.
These include having a baby when you're under 20 or over 40, and living in an area of high socio-economic deprivation.
Professor Farquhar says higher smoking rates among Maori and less early use of midwives also contribute to the higher mortality rate.
