Is Your Nursery Bedding Set Risky?

Reports say that at least 15 % of the over 6000 deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are caused by infants sleeping on soft baby crib bedding. So how can you be sure that any bedding bought for your baby will be safe?

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. To avoid fatal accidents when the baby is sleeping, there should be someone always nearby to keep an eye on the position of the baby’s head. When the baby’s head is placed on the soft mattress, they may not have enough strength to come back in a good position.

Parents can prevent suffocation by ensuring that their baby has a firm mattress to sleep on. The strenght of the mattress can be assessed by pressing one hand against the mattress with the resisting force. This is a simple way to assess a mattress. The more resistant a mattress, the safer it is.

Bumper pads in the crib are another cause of suffocation. While attractive and cute, infants’ faces may be pressed against the soft pads, causing suffocations when baby is unable to free himself.

The parent should take more precaution and care to the infant because infant may be weak and vulnurable during this period. Buy firm bumper pads because there are rare cases of strangulation from bumper pads that have strings, or suffocation from bumper pads that yield to heavier objects.

According to some research, mattress contains some toxic gases which may be harmful to baby’s health. Some researchers have found that phosphorus and arsenic which are generally used as fire retardants, are added to mattresses which can be very harmful. These chemicals can react with others and release poisonous gases; if an infant breathes too much of these, he can die while sleeping in his crib.

It’s ironic but the fungus sometimes found in a baby’s bedding, that we thought is harmful, is actually the one helping to release poisonous gases according to some findings. Parents are thus urged not to use old nursery and crib bedding which has been used before, as it may contain fungus after a long period of time. To avoid fungus, parents should not reuse bedding in an infants crib, even though infants only sleep on it for a short period of time. Instead, parents should buy new bedding. Added to that, rather than an old used nursery bedding, a new one looks much beautiful.

Taking into account all these different things, moms and dads should be able to decide if the baby’s bedding is safe. To avoid sleepless nights, parents should just choose safe beddings for their babies, it will not only relieve them of their worries but will also let the baby enjoy his/her slumber.