26/07/2019
🛌Safe sleeping🛌
Thank you to for the topic.
I can count on one hand the times a parent has run into the hospital I work at, with a lifeless baby that was smiling before their nap and never woke up. This always sends chills down my spine.
So many babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year while sleeping, often due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or accidental deaths from suffocation or strangulation.
Recent findings suggest that certain regions of the brain may be underdeveloped in babies who die from SIDS. When these sleeping babies encounter a situation challenging to their well-being, they may fail to wake up to remove themselves from danger. Since it is impossible to identify which babies may not wake normally, and because the relationship between SIDS and sleep position is so strong, it is recommended that all babies be placed to sleep on their backs.
In an effort to reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths, the American Academy of Pediatrics created an updated policy statement on how to create a safe sleep environment.
All of these recommendations, unless mentioned otherwise, are for babies up to 1 year of age.
🛌Recommendations🛌
🐯Babies should sleep on their backs for all sleep times, including naps and at night. Babies who sleep on their backs are much less likely to die of SIDS than babies who sleep on their stomachs or sides. The problem with putting them on their sides, is that the baby can roll more easily onto the stomach. Some parents worry that babies will choke when on their backs, but the baby's airway anatomy and the gag reflex will keep that from happening. Even babies with reflux should sleep on their backs. Research findings suggest that an infant who sleeps on their stomach gets less oxygen or gets rid of carbon dioxide less because they are “rebreathing” the air from a small pocket of bedding pulled up around the nose. Same goes for blankets or taglets close to the face.
🐯 Some babies will roll onto their stomachs during their sleep. You should always place your baby to sleep on the back, but if your baby is rolling both ways, then you do not have to return your baby to their back. Just make sure that there are no blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, or bumper pads around your baby, so that your baby does not roll into any of those items, which could cause blockage of air flow and suffocation.
🐯If your baby falls asleep in a car seat, pram or swing, you should move them to a firm sleep surface on his or her back as soon as possible.
🐯Newborns should be placed skin-to-skin with their mother as soon after birth as possible, at least for the first hour. After that the mother should do skin-to-skin as much as possible. If the mother needs to sleep or cannot do skin-to-skin, babies should be placed on their backs in their cribs.
🐯Use a firm sleep surface. A crib, bassinet or camping cot that meets safety standards is recommended along with a tight-fitting, firm mattress and fitted sheet. A firm surface is a hard surface; it should not indent when the baby is lying on it.
🐯Keep baby in your room for the first 6 months at least. Place your baby's sleeping area in your bedroom, close to your bed. It can decrease the risk of SIDS by as much as 50% and is much safer than bed sharing. In addition, room sharing will make it easier for you to feed, comfort, and watch your baby.
🐯Keep soft objects, loose bedding, or any objects that could increase the risk of suffocation or strangulation out of the baby's sleep area. These include pillows, blankets, toys, bumper pads or similar products that attach to crib slats or sides. If you are worried about your baby getting cold, you can use infant sleep clothing, such as a baby sleeping bag. In general, your baby should be dressed with only one layer more than you are wearing.
🐯Only bring your baby into your bed to feed or comfort. Place your baby back in his or her own sleep space when you are ready to go to sleep. If you fall asleep, be sure to move the baby to his or her own bed as soon as you wake up.
🐯Never place your baby to sleep on a couch, sofa, or armchair.
🐯Bed-sharing is not recommended.
🐯It is fine to swaddle your baby. However, make sure that the baby is always on their back when swaddled. The swaddle should not be too tight or make it hard for the baby to breathe or move his or her hips. When your baby looks like he or she is trying to roll over, you should stop swaddling.
🐯Give a dummy at all sleep times. This helps reduce the risk of SIDS, even if it falls out after the baby is asleep. It's fine if your baby doesn't want a dummy. You can try offering it again later, but some babies simply don't like them. If the dummy falls out after your baby falls asleep, you don't have to put it back in.
🛌Is there a difference between co-sleeping and bed-sharing?🛌
Bed-sharing refers to a sleeping arrangement in which the baby shares the same sleeping surface with another person. Co-sleeping refers to a sleeping arrangement in which an infant is within arm’s reach of his or her mother, but not on the same sleeping surface. Sleeping in the same room (i.e., room-sharing), but not in the same bed, is co-sleeping.
Co-sleeping has been done for centuries in many cultures and it is the norm for some families. Mothers in non-western cultures who traditionally sleep with their children say that they do so to monitor them, keep them safe, facilitate breastfeeding and, simply, be near them. The new westernized emphasis has traditionally been on having children sleep in their own beds, which is thought to play an important role in the child’s ability to learn to separate from the parent and to see themselves as independent individuals.
My job is to give you the evidence-based research linking bed-sharing with an increased risk of unexpected infant death, so you can make your own informed decision.
As mentioned previously, bed-sharing is not recommended, but especially not in the following scenarios:
🌹Your baby is younger than 4 months old.
🌹Your baby was born prematurely or with low birth weight.
🌹You or any other person in the bed is a smoker, even if you do not smoke in bed.
🌹The mother of the baby smoked during pregnancy.
🌹A parent is obese.
🌹You have taken any medicines or drugs that might make it harder for you to wake up.
🌹You drank any alcohol.
🌹Where babies are sharing beds with other children or pets.
🌹The surface is soft, such as a waterbed, old mattress, sofa, couch, or armchair.
🌹There is soft bedding like pillows or blankets on the bed.
🛌So what can you do?🛌
🖐Do not smoke during pregnancy or after your baby is born. Keep your baby away from smokers and places where people smoke.
🖐Do not use alcohol or illicit drugs during pregnancy or after the baby is born when bedsharing. It is very important not to bed-share with your baby if you have been drinking alcohol or taken any medicines or illicit drugs that can make it harder for you to wake up.
🖐Breastfed babies have a lower risk of SIDS. Breastfeed or feed your baby expressed breast milk as far as possible.
🖐Schedule and go to all your clinic visits. Your baby will receive important immunizations at these visits. Recent evidence suggests that immunizations may have a protective effect against SIDS.
🖐Make sure your baby has tummy time every day. Awake tummy time should be supervised by an awake adult. This helps with baby's motor development
🖐Use caution when a product claims to reduce the risk of SIDS. Wedges, positioners, special mattresses and specialized sleep surfaces have not been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS
🖐Do not rely on home heart or breathing monitors to reduce the risk of SIDS. Still follow safe sleep guidelines with those as a backup.
🖐Do not use a pillow for the baby. Babies and adults are different. A pillow can block a baby’s nose and mouth and can cause a baby to suffocate. The majority of deaths involve infants in their first three months of life. You can safely start using pillows for children who are 1 and a 1/2 years old.
🖐All baby monitors with cords and other corded items need to be placed out of baby’s reach in the crib.
🖐Do not let your pet sleep in the cot or bassinette even when your baby is not in there, as the pet may want to sleep there when the baby is there.
🖐When it comes to baby slings and carriers always remember to keep your baby visible and kissable. This means chin up, face visible and the nose and mouth free.
🛌Baby sleeping bags🛌
Baby sleeping bags may reduce the risk of SIDS. A safe sleeping bag is made in such a way that the baby cannot slip inside the bag and become completely covered. They reduce the risk of blankets covering baby’s face. They delay baby rolling onto the tummy during sleep until baby’s past the age of peak risk of SIDS. It will keep baby’s temperature at a more constant level while sleeping
🛌What about older children?🛌
By the time your child is a toddler they are no longer at risk for SIDS, and many of the rules for safe baby sleep no longer apply.
Often, bed-sharing with parents is regarded as a consequence of night waking. The movements of one person during the night stimulates others in the same bed to have more frequent waking and sleep-state changes, so that neither the parent nor child sleeps as well. Sometimes it is unclear if the problem is whether parents take children with sleep problems to bed or if taking children to their bed causes sleep problems.
Some experts agree bed-sharing does not encourage dependency. Children reach the stage of independence from their parents when they are ready. It is a parent’s responsibility to provide a secure environment that allows a child’s independence to develop naturally. Studies showed that no sleep problems, sexual pathology or other negative consequences develop from bed-sharing in early childhood.
That said, there are still some important things to consider to ensure that your toddler stays safe while they sleep:
🌛Your toddler should move to a bed when they’re old enough. Ideally, you should make the switch when he's as close to age 3 as possible. Most children move to a toddler bed any time between 18 months and 3 and a 1/2 years old, though younger toddlers may not really be ready for a big bed.
🌛Create a safe sleeping space. Make sure your child’s crib or bed is far away from any objects with ties or strings, like window blind pulls, curtains or electrical cords; likewise, watch for items that your toddler might be able to pull into his crib or bed, like picture frames, mobiles or other hazards. The good news: blankets, pillows and stuffed animals no longer pose the risk that they did when your child was a baby. Now, it's fine for your toddler to sleep with a thin blanket and a small pillow — but make sure the pillow isn't big enough for him to use as a makeshift step stool to climb out of his crib. And it's still a good idea to steer clear of big stuffed animals or soft toys.
🌛Take steps to protect crib climbers. Toddlers love moving around and exploring their environment — which can mean trying to climb out of their cribs. If your child is still in a crib, keep his crib mattress on the lowest setting to make it harder for them to get out. And avoid putting anything in the crib that your child could step on to help climb out, like stuffed toys or crib bumpers. Even with these precautions in place, your toddler might still be able to climb out of his crib anyway. If that’s the case, and they’re doing it frequently, it’s probably time to move them into a toddler bed or a bed with a side rail.
🌛Let your toddler sleep in a position that’s comfortable for them. After their first birthday, you no longer have to put your child to sleep on their back. They’re old enough to sleep safely on their backs, stomachs or sides — so let them stick with whatever position they choose.
DISCLAIMER: Please note this page is not intended for medical emergencies or consultations. I give my own opinion on various medical and other child caring issues. This does not in anyway replace the sound examination and advice of your own medical professional. It is non-profitable and only for expanding your knowledge base and fun.
Photo by Bastien Jaillot on Unsplash
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