The Dangers of Baby Pillows that you should know
Friday, January 23rd, 2009Many parents have heard about the harm baby pillows may cause to their child. But that the baby pillows are harmful is something they simply refuse to believe. Therefore something that is so innocent looking as a baby pillow is still victimizing many children today. What parents should know is that, the main cause of fatalities under that age is SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. SIDS is associated with suffocation, strangulation and rebreathing. In most of these cases, the baby pillow plays a very important role.
Soft bedding, baby sleeping on his stomach and baby pillow causes strangulation and suffocation in children under the age of one. Aside from soft bedding and sleeping on their stomach, the baby pillow is as harmful. Major causes of suffocation in younger children includes the baby pillows. This is because the baby pillow may be grasped by the baby and it may end up on his face. The baby will be suffocated if he fails to remove the pillow from his face. In most cases, the baby suffocate when the pillow get too close to the baby.
Another leading cause of SIDS is rebreathing. Rebreathing is when the baby breathes carbon dioxide or what is more commonly known as bad air. Rebreathing occurs when instead of inhaling oxygen, the baby inhales his own exhaled carbon dioxide. Rebreathing may be caused by loose sheets or beddings getting over his head. What many do not know is that baby pillows may also cause rebreathing. This can happen if the baby inhales his exhaled carbon dioxide because the pillow is too close to his face. If parents do not remove the baby pillow from the crib, the baby is still not safe from rebreathing even if the sheets and beddings are well secured.
Doctors advise parents, to reduce SIDS risk, not to use baby pillows until the baby is sleeping on toddler bed. This means that the baby is not ready to use pillows until he is on his toddler age. This should not be a dilemma because the baby can sleep comfortably even without baby pillows. Babies and even adults do not need pillows to get a good and comfortable sleep according to medical sleep experts. Nevertheless, make sure that your child is already on his toddler bed and is old enough if you are really keen on introducing him to pillows. This is because you just might introduce him to harm instead of additional comfort.


