Safe Sleep for Your Baby
Most parents want the best for their babies and would never dream of putting them in danger. Yet the simple act of sleeping on a bed or couch with a newborn, or putting them to sleep with stuffed animals, pillows or soft bedding, could end in tragedy.
According to State of Texas statistics, hundreds of Texas babies die in their sleep each year ―suddenly, unexpectedly, and without a clear explanation or due to accidental suffocation or strangulation.
The exact causes of many of these deaths are unknown. However, there are infant care practices and other risk factors associated with these deaths, including many that may interfere with a baby's ability to breathe. These include:
- Sleeping with soft bedding, pillows, bumper pads, or stuffed animals that may interfere with a baby's ability to breathe.
- Adults under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol, or who are obese or extremely fatigued may accidentally smother a baby while sleeping with the child.
- Secondhand smoke of any kind may interfere with a baby's ability to breathe.
- Putting a baby to sleep on its stomach increases the risk of sudden, unexpected infant death.
Where My Baby Sleeps
The safest place for a baby to sleep is in a safety-approved crib or bassinet in the same room with a parent or caregiver. Adult beds are not made for babies and may carry a risk of accidental entrapment and suffocation.
For some parents, the decision to sleep with their baby is a very personal one. While most American parents choose to put their children to sleep in bed in a crib or bassinet, some feel bed-sharing (also known as co-sleeping) is a bonding experience and makes nighttime breast-feeding more convenient.
Yet statistics tell a cautionary tale. In 2010, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) investigated 177 infant deaths in Texas involving co-sleeping. The Consumer Product Safety Commission analyzed 515 co-sleeping related infant deaths from 1990-1997. It reports that 121 of those deaths were related to suffocation by another person, while 394 were related to sleeping on improper surfaces, such as soft bedding, waterbeds and pillows, and bed rails where infants could become wedged.
In recent years many health practitioners and government officials have become concerned with co-sleeping. In 2002, the National Center for Health Statistics reported 2,295 American infants under the age of 1 year died from SIDS, making it the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between 1 month and 1 year of age.
Help for Families
Families with limited means can sometimes get help from charities to purchase safe cribs or bassinettes or may find low cost ones at thrift stores like Goodwill or Salvation Army. In Texas, parents can look for assistance in their area by calling 2-1-1 from anywhere in Texas.
Any crib, especially a used one, should be inspected for safety. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has a video on safe infant sleep and publishes a tip sheet on crib safety. Beginning June 28, 2011, all cribs sold in the United States must meet new federal requirements for overall crib safety.
Make safe sleep practices a part of your child's daily life. And, be sure to talk about safe sleep with anyone who takes care of your baby.
Do's and Don'ts for Safe Sleep
Do:
- Do put babies to sleep alone on their backs in a crib or on another firm surface with a tight-fitting bottom sheet.
- Do keep babies away from secondhand smoke.
- Do dress the baby, not the bed ―dress the child lightly and control the room temperature. 70 degrees is ideal.
- Do breast feed and use pacifiers as both are associated with a lower risk of sudden death.
Don't
- Don't put a baby to sleep with blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or bumper pads inside the crib.
- Don't cover a baby's face or allow a baby to cover its face with anything.
- Don't let an infant sleep with older children.
- Don't ever sleep with an infant if you are drunk, under the influence of illegal drugs or medications that make you sleepy, or when extremely tired.
- Don't put a baby to sleep on or sleep with a baby on chairs, sofas, futons, beanbags, or cushions.
- Don't put babies to sleep on soft mattresses such as pillow-tops, waterbeds, or memory foam. If the baby leaves an impression in the mattress, it's too soft.
- Don't expose babies to secondhand smoke.