Is Your Nursery Bedding Baneful?
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Over 6000 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are reported each year, and more than 900 of these are due to babies’ soft baby bedding. Which brings up the question of safety for your infants mattress.
There is a risk of the infant suffocating if soft bedding is used. Especially if the head sinks into the bedding. You may think a soft mattress is more comfortable for your little one, but if it is too soft, it may not be safe. Fatal accidents may occur when a baby’s head is placed on a soft mattress. Infants are often too week to roll over if they get into a dangerous position.
Parents can prevent suffocation by ensuring that their baby has a firm mattress to sleep on. By applying force to a certain mattress one can actually feel it resisting the weight and it’s actually one way of discovering the mattress strength. A mattress with the strongest resistance is is best.
The crib is where babies should be safe, but too many times parents do not realize the danger they are in when they are in their cribs. Bumper pads are carelessly added in the crib without thinking that they may suffocate a baby if it will totally cover a baby’s face.
Parents need to use extra care and take precautions during this period since the infants are weak and vulnerable. Parents need to make a choice between wanting cute and wanting what’s safest for the baby. If the parents should choose the latter, they should take out all the bumper pads from the crib and refrain from putting anything that might cause danger to their babies again.
According to some research, mattress contains some toxic gases which may be harmful to baby’s health. Hazardous chemical, fire retardant compounds (phosphorous and arsenic) have been found in mattresses. The chemical compounds present in the mattress when reacts with certain material, then they release toxic gases which is very dangerous for the baby, if the baby inhales a large amount of it while sleeping.
It has been proven that fungus that grows in infants bedding may release toxic gases. Because of that, they suggest that mom and dads not use any older style bedding in the baby’s room that could have mold and/or mildew on it from being used prior. Because infants only sleep in cribs for a short period of time, parents may be tempted to reuse old bedding. However, to avoid the existence of such fungus, this should not be the case. Buying a new set of nursery bedding adds a fresh look to the baby’s room.
In addition, there is some concern about synthetic fabric in baby bedding sets. While there is no solid proof that synthetic fabrics are harmful to a baby, you may want to stick to natural fibers. There are plenty of stylish cotton nursery bedding sets available (one of my favorites is the Maya baby bedding set by Trend Lab), so there is no need to sacrifice style for safety.
Use this criteria to determine if your baby bedding is safe. If not, it is a good idea to select and purchase a new, safe bedding which will not only ensure the safety of your baby but will help you sleep worry-free at night.