While there’s no right and wrong way to raise your child, parents usually agree that you shouldn’t do anything to your child that’s been proven to be dangerous for them.
For the first six months of an infant’s life, they should be sleeping flat on their back in a crib without any blanket, pillow, or toys since these items have been proven to cause overheating and suffocation that can cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
However, an increasing number of parents have been ignoring health and safety warnings for their babies and buying specialty baby pillows in order to prevent their baby from getting ‘flat head syndrome’, which occurs when pressure on an area of the head causes a flat spot on the head.
Despite the clear warning, parents are afraid that laying their child on their back for six months will cause an unsightly flat spot on the back of their head, and have turned to specialty pillows that claim to prevent a flat spot developing.
“Families are now investing in these pillows and cushions – but there is no evidence that they even work,” Dr Kirsty-Anne Noble, a paediatrician at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton and spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said. “This is just a big marketing tool – we know that most cases of flat head syndrome will normalise by themselves over one or two years. At the same time there is clear evidence that babies need to be laid flat to prevent them dying in the cot.”
Rather than put you baby in danger, try these four safe alternatives to preventing flat head syndrome:
3. Alternate Your Nursery Layout: Depending on the layout of the nursery, your baby will naturally turn their head towards the center of the room, the doorway, or a window. Changing the layout of the nursery will force them to look in another direction.
2. Change Your Baby’s Head Position: Each time you put you baby to sleep, remember which way their head was turned. Next time, turn it the opposite way to prevent pressure on one spot on the head.
1. Tummy Time: Babies need to sleep on the backs, so when they are awake, it’s important to not have them spend too much time on their backs. Instead, encourage supervised tummy time, which will also strengthen muscles in the arms, neck, and back.
Would you still use a baby pillow despite the clear warnings? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with parents on Facebook.
[Featured image: mammanett]
The Shocking Reason You Should NEVER Put A Pillow In Your Baby’s Crib is an article from: LifeDaily