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Infants Shouldn't Sleep in Car Seats, Study Says
Filed under: Toddlers Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies, In The News, Day Care & Education, Feeding & Sleeping, Baby-sitting, Research Reveals: Babies, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Development: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gear Guides: Babies, Gear Guides: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Sleep
Don't let your infant sleep in the car seat. Credit: andycarvin, Flickr
Car seats are required safety gear, and you can't leave the hospital with your newborn without one. But the seats require infants to be placed in an upright position, which can potentially cause breathing problems in sleeping babies. A new study in the journal Pediatrics shows that the seats can compress the chest wall and reduce the airway size, possibly resulting in lower oxygen levels in the blood.
"Car seats and car beds can result in mild respiratory compromise in about 20 percent of newborns," said lead researcher Dr. T. Bernard Kinane, the chief of pulmonary pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, according to a story on CNN.
A car bed is a special car seat used for premature infants with breathing issues.
Any new parent can relate to the frantic desire for a moment of precious infant sleep, said Selena Silva, the program coordinator at the Child Passenger Safety Program at Children's Hospital, in Denver, Colo. However, Silva told CNN that parents should avoid using the car seat as a place to nap.
"In the early days of parenthood, new parents are desperate to find any comfortable place for an infant to sleep," she said. "But car seats are really meant to be used in cars."
The study placed 200 healthy newborns in a hospital crib for 30 minutes, and in a car bed or car seat for an hour. Infants who slept in a car seat or car bed had lower oxygen levels than when sleeping in the crib.
Based on the study, researchers are recommending possible design changes such as new buckles and a new back that would allow the baby's head to fall back to prevent chest compression. The incline of a car seat is also crucial, said Silva -- an infant car seat must be installed such that the baby sits at a 45-degree angle, which helps keep the airway open.
However, the study should not scare parents out of using a car seat for travel -- just don't let your baby sleep in one at home.
"These safety devices should only be used for protection during travel and not as a replacement for a crib," said Kinane.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-05-2009 @ 9:27AM
SKL said...So does this mean it's also not safe to cradle your baby in your arms while he sleeps? Can they prove that the "lower" amount of oxygen is a problem, versus just something sleeping babies adapt to? Or have they just jumped to a conclusion as usual?
Sleeping flat on the back is quite unnatural for a baby. I still don't believe it's the healthiest way, so I don't believe it's right to use that position as a baseline to evaluate the health/safety of other sleep positions.
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9-15-2009 @ 6:36PM
Melissa said...So true, flat on their back is unnatural....and weren't they telling us THAT was the wrong way 15 years ago or something?? They told us to put them on their stomachs because if they spit up while on their backs they would choke....now we should put them on their back because they will suffocate themselves on their stomachs....when I brought my daughter home I put her in a sleep positioner on her SIDE....I figured that way, I was obeying both rule, right? Well, by two months old she was scooting out of said sleep positioner and sleeping on her stomach! And the car seat....well she hated it so she never slept in that thing anyway lol.
9-05-2009 @ 9:49AM
Amy said...Your numbers are wrong - from the original article at CNN, 20% of BABIES had lower oxygen levels, not 20% lower oxygen levels as you state. An oxygen level of 75% would be very serious. It would cause mental impairment, if sustained.
Your article says, "a new study shows that the devices can lower some babies' oxygen levels by as much as 20 percent" - this is not what CNN article says.
The CNN article said, "Specifically, the infants had an average oxygen saturation level of 95.7 percent in a car seat, compared with 96.3 percent in a car bed, and 97.9 percent in a hospital crib." So, an overall difference of 2.2%, not 20%. Big difference. 95.7% is still within the "normal" range.
I'm sure this was an honest mistake, but I think you need to correct this article before you unnecessarily freak parents out. and frankly, a 2% oxygen saturation loss to get my kid to stay asleep? I'll take it.
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9-05-2009 @ 10:52AM
Sifrina said...SKL - I had the EXACT same question when reading this - when cradling my baby in my arms (which was most of the time in the beginning) was he at a 45 degree angle?? And then he napped ALOT in a car seat in the house and in the stroller/carrier (we weren't about to wake him up!). I also wondered about all the cultures where mothers use slings for carrying babies - are these baby carriers causing "chest compression"?!?
AMY - Good points!
9-05-2009 @ 11:58AM
Clarissa said...When my daughter was an infant I rarely let her sleep in her car seat. Not because of breathing problems but just because it looked so dang uncomfortable.
Even if she was asleep I always took her out and put her either in her crib or travel bed.
She never seemed to mind and usually drifted right back off with no trouble.
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9-14-2009 @ 10:39AM
cristolrok said...I don't have any children of my own, but I do have some good information for some of you who aren't too familiar with breathing emergencies/ comprimises...
the only reason that their levels are slightly lower is because their airway is being comprimised... their heads aren't in a neutral position and can potentially cut off any sort of circulation... their heads are tilted forward towards the chest... that's what creates the lower oxygen levels...
when you cradle your baby, you aren't comprimising their airway because of how you position your arms... this is a simple solution people...
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9-14-2009 @ 10:57AM
Martie said...And just HOW do you keep an infant awake when they want/need to sleep?? You can't remove them while you're traveling, and if you have to get somewhere, you can't pull over. I dare you to try to keep an infant awake when the lulling sounds and motion of the car puts them to sleep! OK, so we'll watch over them closely, but you are frightening people!
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9-14-2009 @ 11:29AM
marie.molchak said...you can let them sleep in the car seat while traveling...you just shouldn't let them sleep in the car seat when you get home.
i never take the car seat in the house with me. it's just a hassle I take my son out and he'll stay asleep and when i get in the house i'll either put him on the couch or in his bassinet.
and if this is actually scaring parents..their dumb! they've had car seats for a very long time! get over it!!!
9-14-2009 @ 1:39PM
Amber said...That is why, except for when driving, you should carry your baby in a sling. Check them out at www.solfulslings.com!!
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9-14-2009 @ 2:58PM
brandy said...this is how i look at it if my daughter was asleep i didnt move her and she was just find the drs. i had asked about this particalar thing is that as long as you have them in the seat right the are find if they get to uncomfortable they will either wake up or move around to get comfortable. my daughter slept bette rin her car seat then any place else. so she is just find. she is 6 now and still sleep in the car in the same postions she has been in in all of her carseats. so no it wont hurt them to sleep in a car seat it is the same way they sleep in a car seat rather if it is in car or a house.
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9-26-2009 @ 1:08AM
mommiedear said...I think if the car seat is used to the purpose it was invented we could eliminate all problems caused by sleeping babies....car seat: used to take baby in car from point A to point B. PERIOD. I have seen moms carry babies into stores in them into restaurants in them and frankly I have don't the same had I read this article I might have though to do something different but what? Gone are the days when we could stay home for the first 5 months cradling our children and laying them flat and on heir backs.....now we have to go grocery shopping make time for our husbands go eat out when we can because LORD knows once the kid is about 6 months the crankiness dictates where and when we go anywhere IF EVER we go anywhere.... Live and learn and stop nitpicking at the little things be vigilant and watch for signs in your infants behavior and all will be well!
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9-22-2009 @ 12:25PM
Lauren said...It is great to know this kind of information. Who knew? It is important to keep up to date with things like this. Thanks for sharing!
www.findmycarseat.com
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10-02-2009 @ 10:27AM
Tara said...@mommiedear: You are right. Problems arise when things are misused. If you buy a safe seat, have it installed properly, and use it only in the car, you shouldn't worry.
I love Graco, they really make good baby gear.(Btw, there is a great promotion going on right now, and moms can get a baby gear bundle (car seat, stroller, swing, Pack-n-Play) for free http://www.healthbeautyncs.com/rd_p?p=192462&t=9530&a=29907-sgraco&gift=29907 You should check it out.
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