Is Your Baby Bedding Dangerous?

Over 6000 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are reported each year, and more than 900 of these are due to babies’ soft nursery bedding. So how can you be sure that any bedding bought for your baby will be safe?

It’s never a good idea to lay an infant on her stomach, because not being able to fully lift her head yet, she might actually soffucate with her face pressed on the bed. You may think a soft mattress is more comfortable for your little one, but if it is too soft, it may not be safe. They might not have the strength to roll over to recover from the dangerous position and the fatal accidents might happen if no one is around to take good care of the little one and as infants are too weak, when their heads are being placed on the soft mattress.

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. A simple test can be performed by pressing one hand against the surface to assess the resistance of the mattress. The more resistant a mattress, the safer it is.

Bumper pads in baby cribs pose a threat of suffocation. There is no doubt that the colors and designs are attractive but many recommend removing them from the crib as an infant who falls asleep with their tiny mouth up against the padding will have their movement and breathing restricted and can potentially suffocate.

Parents should have care and precaution because infants are vulnerable and weak during this period. When babies are pressed between the bumper pads and another object and some of the people recommend to buy firmer bumper pads while others just remove all of them from the crib and the latter being the best method because, though rare, there are also cases of strangulation by the strings of the bumper pads and suffocation.

According to some research, mattress contains some toxic gases which may be harmful to baby’s health. Hazardous chemical, fire retardant compounds (phosphorous and arsenic) have been found in mattresses. The chemical compounds present in the mattress when reacts with certain material, then they release toxic gases which is very dangerous for the baby, if the baby inhales a large amount of it while sleeping.

It has been proven that fungus that grows in infants bedding may release toxic gases. 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. Buying a new set of nursery bedding adds a fresh look to the baby’s room.

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 Maya baby bedding set by Trend Lab), so there is no need to sacrifice style for safety.

Using these guidelines, it should be easy for a parent to determine if their baby’s nursery bedding is safe. If not, purchase a new, safe bedding option so that your baby can sleep safely and you can sleep without worries.