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As new parents, we want everything for baby to be perfect – and one of the key phrases you’ll hear often is ‘soft’. Babies are so precious that we even talk about wanting to wrap them in cotton wool!
Mike says: ‘We all know about the suffocation hazard posed by a thin plastic bag that can conform to a child’s face and block airflow. That kind of suffocation is easy to understand, and we all know to keep plastic bags away from children. Re-breathing is a different kind of suffocation and is more difficult to understand. Babies are designed very well to prevent suffocation in most situations.
However, when an infant’s face is in contact with a thick material that is either pillowy or fluffy soft, or that conforms to the shape of their face creating a seal, hazardous rebreathing can occur. An infant can continue breathing greater and greater concentrations of their own exhaled breath, known as carbon dioxide re-breathing.
Outside the cot, there are a range of other potentially hazardous products that could also provide pillowy or fluffy soft surfaces including carriers, car-seats, loungers, slings, swings, bouncing devices and play yards. Parents must be vigilant to assure that there will be no opportunity for the baby to get their face pressed against them.’
When it comes to safety inside the cot/crib, Mike’s message is clear. In the early months, infants placed on their back will tend to stay where you place them in the cot. Once they begin to move around and roll over, their face may come into contact with anything in the cot including the mattress, side rails, head and footboard and any hazardous items placed inside that can conform to a baby’s face, e.g., quilts, pillows, sheepskin, plush toys, foam, bumpers or anything that make a sleep surface too pillowy or fluffy soft.
We know it can often be hard for adults to understand that what is best for us is not also best for baby. We want soft and comfy to sleep on for ourselves; however, all globally recognised advocates and authorities agree that baby’s sleep surface, including bedding, needs to be firm and flat.
Did you know there is a standard for sleep surface firmness here in Australia? If a sleep surface does not pass this standard, it increases the risk of SIDS three-fold. The firmness testing device is called a Firmometer and was created by Ron Somers, one of the lead authors.
Our safety recommendations:
