The majority of premature infant deaths are due to the elements present in their beds, responsible for three out of four unexpected disappearances.
- Lying on the belly, the infant risks burial, hyperthermia and respiratory confinement, just as in a lateral position he risks tipping over on his belly.
- The baby must be lying on his back, on a firm mattress in a cot and without a pillow, duvet or blanket.
- The baby must be left free to move his head and body, day and night, to avoid cranial deformities.
The bed of infants is their main danger. Pillows, soft toys and bumpers, designed to protect the baby’s head from shocks, are his main enemies and their main cause of unexpected deaths. The US federal public health agency, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), conducted a study that found that three-quarters of premature deaths of infants under the age of one in the United States are attributable to the various elements present in their beds. The results were published on April 27 in the journal Pediatrics.
Lay the baby on his back
The researchers analyzed data from 4,929 infants who died accidentally between 2011 and 2017. Of these, 75% were due to soft toys, bumpers, blankets, pillows and other bedding items. These deaths aren’t just about cribs. “We are also talking about infants placed on surfaces other than a bassinet or crib”, specifies Sharyn Parks, epidemiologist and author of the study, which takes the example of “a couch, recliner, or adult bed. We see babies dying in all these circumstances.”
Last year, the High Authority for Health (HAS) and the National Professional Pediatric Council recalled good practices for putting your child to bed. In a memo card published on March 5, 2020, the two authorities recall that lying on his stomach, the infant risks burial, hyperthermia and respiratory confinement, as well as in a lateral position he risks tipping over on his stomach. It is therefore necessary to lay the baby on his back. “Restraint materials (baby wedge, head wedge, positioning cushion, bed reducer, etc.) are useless, deleterious and dangerous because they can promote ventral reversal and increase the risk of asphyxiation death by burial”, alerted the HAS. Sleeping your child in a prone position increases the risk of suffering from positional cranial deformities.
Vary the positions
If the baby has to lie on his back, watch out for plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome. In December 2020, HAS published a tip sheet for parents to prevent the infant from suffering from plagiocephaly. This cranial deformation is characterized by an asymmetrical flattening, on the back or one side of the head, linked to the sleeping of the infant on the back. To prevent this phenomenon, the HAS recommends leaving the baby “free to move head and body, day or night”.
The recommendations of the High Authority for Health to ensure the safety of infants are as follows: the baby must be lying on his back on a firm mattress in a bed with bars, installed in a suitable sleeping bag, without pillow or duvet or blanket, with a moderate ambient temperature (18-20°), ideally in the parents’ room for the first 6 months of life, avoiding sharing the parental bed and without exposure to tobacco. It is also recommended to vary the postures and to encourage the spontaneous rotations of the baby’s head according to the age.
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