A nice soft surface may seem like the best place for your baby to sleep. Yet did you know that this could increase the risk of suffocation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There is an association of higher risk of SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome when there’s loose bedding in the crib,” said Dr. Katharine Chang, a pediatrician at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. “It covers up the nose and mouth of the baby and they can’t breathe properly and that becomes a suffocation risk.”
Accidental suffocation in bed is the number one cause of deaths in infants and the CDC estimates 55 percent of babies are currently sleeping in cribs with these unsafe conditions.
Dr. Chang says babies should only sleep on a tight sheet without “quilts, crib bumpers, stuffed animals, pillows, or heavy blankets.”
Parents should also always put their baby to sleep on their back, never their stomach or side.
[fwdevp preset_id=”8″ video_path=”pyMkV0fnIz0”]Agencies/Canadajournal