OMG
New Warnings About Infant Sleep Positioners Every Mom Should Heed
After hearing about the new warnings issued highlighting the dangers of infant sleep positioners, I'm even more relieved that I chose not to use one after having my son. Since 1997, 13 babies under the age of 4 months old have died after being placed in a sleep positioner -- and the cause of death for all of them was unintentional suffocation.
Of the 13 infants, nine of them were placed in a side-sleeping position using the foam device, and most of them wound up being found lying face down on their stomachs by caregivers who likely only had the best intentions by using the sleep positioners in the first place. (So sad.)
And that's what makes these deaths even more heartbreaking. Most parents use sleep positioners because they want to prevent their babies from rolling around in the middle of the night and possibly suffocating. I'm sure the last thought on their minds after deciding to use one is that they may be putting their baby in harm's way instead of helping him or her have a better night's sleep.
Even though I'd never heard of anyone having trouble while using one, I chose to forgo adding an infant sleep positioner to my baby registry right before I had my son, because something about them just didn't seem totally safe to me. Over and over again, I kept hearing about how dangerous it was to put anything into a crib with a sleeping baby because of the risk of suffocation.
In fact, I didn't even use crib bumpers because I was so worried about my son rolling into them and being accidentally smothered. I always found the idea of sleep positioners to be pretty scary, especially since babies have been sleeping just fine without them for years and years.
And I also thought about it this way -- I wouldn't want someone shoving me into a device that kept me in a certain position all night long, so why would I want to restrict my baby like that? (It really can't be too comfortable.)
Even though plenty of parents have used sleep positioners without any sort of incident, even the slightest risk of suffocation should be enough to convince them to stop using them once and for all. It just doesn't seem worth it to me.
Do you use a sleep positioner -- why or why not?
Image via ljheidel/Flickr
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Sirena Robinson
There's a slight risk of suffocation if you swaddle, if you use a pillow, if you have a crib mattress instead of a hard bassinet mattress. Point is, every single thing has a risk. Lay them on their stomach, risk smothering them, lay them on their back, risk them choking on spit up. Nothing about parenting is safe. All we can do is our best. But this risk? 13 out of how many millions sold? I'd be willing to bet that this percentage is pretty insignificant. Parents are all doing their best, and the last thing we need to do to a parent that has lost their baby in a tragic accident is give them more reasons to second guess themselves. There are plenty of things we shouldn't be doing, but I don't think using a sleep positioner is one of them. And I say this as someone who never used one on my child. Not to say I wouldn't have, but she would only sleep in her swing, so it was never an issue.
abra819
So sad :( We swaddled and my babe slept in a swing.
nicky
Pinkmani
It's so hard raising a kid. Not only are you responsible for what your kid does, you get criticised for everything you do - good or bad.
micheledo
13 deaths in 15 years is hardly concerning.
Obviously it is serious to the individual families, and I cannot imagine their loss. I'm so sorry for them.
But I bet there are MANY more common household objects that have caused a death a year in homes - stairs, toys, fork, blanket, bucket, etc.
Foleygirl24
we used one, because it made my son feel like he was being held, and helped him not be so startled by the moro reflex. it was the only way he would sleep those first few weeks. the one we used didn't have foam though, it was basically two bumpers (one of either side) made of wire mesh with a breathable padded fabric covering. we'll probably use it again when we have another child. i was more worried about putting him in bed swaddled because no matter how tight i did it, he would kick it off and then there would be a loose blanket in his crib.
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