It’s hard to imagine but according to studies 6000 babies die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome every year while 900 of these deaths are actually caused by soft nursery 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. Infants should be supervised at all times and be given the best care to avoid deadly accidents. For example, special care should be taken when placing an infant a crib with a soft mattress so that suffocation does not occur.
parents can select a baby nursery bedding with a firm mattress that does not get depressed easily when some weight is being applied on it in order to avoid accidents. You can test this by pressing on the mattress to see if it may be too soft. The more resistance a mattress demonstrates, the better the mattress.
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.
Parents need to use extra care and take precautions during this period since the infants are weak and vulnerable. While some recommend firmer bumper pads, the best option is to remove bumpers from the crib entirely. The reason for this is that there are rare cases of strangulation by the bumper pad strings, and of suffocation between the pads and another object.
In addition, recent research has revealed that there are toxic gases in mattresses that can be detrimental to your baby’s development. Dangerous chemicals have been found to be added to mattresses as fire retardants, but they are dangerous chemical compounds containing phosphorus and arsenic. Babies may die while sleeping as a result of inhaling hazardous chemicals that have reacted with other chemicals found in mattresses.
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. New bedding in a baby’s room is far more welcoming than recycled.
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 baby crib bedding sets available (one of my favorites is the Trend Lab’s Maya crib bedding), so there is no need to sacrifice style for safety.
Parents should be able to guage the safety of their baby’s bedding if they consider all these factors. 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.