Search Results for: blog safety and sids

Bassinet Safety

Bassinets, co-sleepers, portable play yards and cradles are all great products to use for an infant when you want the baby to be close and hand. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents share a room with their baby but not a bed, and a bassinet can do the trick. One thing that many parents don’t realize (I know I didn’t, and we used a bassinet with all three of our children) is that there are no federal regulations regarding bassinets as there are with cribs. In other words, cribs must follow safety standards set by the Consumer Product … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: October 2008

If you had an October baby, congratulations! I hope that you will spend some time with us here at Families.com, as we bring you the latest news and tips for you and your family. Here is the Baby Blog month in review for October. October 1st Insect Repellent and Young Children Protecting my children is the number one priority, but one thing that I tend to avoid is insect repellent. I figure that putting additional chemicals on my kids is not the best idea, that is until now. These days, a mosquito bite is not just an annoyance, but it … Continue reading →

How Long Do You Have to Worry About SIDS?

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Here is yet another blog inspired by recent discussion in the forums. Several discussions have popped up lately regarding babies sleeping on their backs and other bedtime behavior that we’ve all been told not to allow. Back to Sleep The Back to Sleep campaign is an educational campaign that seeks to educate new parents on the dangers of putting your baby to sleep on their tummies. Since the campaign started, statistics show almost a 50% decrease in the incidences of SIDS. While I don’t think it can be exclusively attributed to the back to sleep campaign*, there certainly is a … Continue reading →

The Best of the 2007 Baby Blog

It has been an exciting year in the baby blog with a few changes in bloggers, several news stories, a few series started, and of course lots of information and reflection. This is a list of the best of the best. . .the best news, the best advice and the best of my personal favorites. With that I wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to an exciting year in 2008! Ask a Baby Blogger Series–This, in my opinion is one of the best things the baby blog has to offer. Granted, it’s my advice which I … Continue reading →

Is SIDS Really Caused by Co-Sleeping?

I have written numerous articles on co-sleeping, on my belief that it reduces the risks of SIDS, that it helps breastfeeding mothers and that indeed, “sharing sleep” with our twins was the only way that I survived the twins’ first year. When we started co-sleeping with our daughter in 1999, it was still considered a weird practice. It wasn’t talked about much and there hadn’t been a lot of studies on it at that point. This week however, a nine month study by Scripps Howard News Service has suggested that most babies who died of SIDS, really died of accidental … Continue reading →

SIDS Linked to Hearing Abnormality

This is probably the most ground breaking research ever published studying SIDS. Results are preliminary and as one researcher points out there have been other ’causes’ linked to SIDS but none of them are conclusive. However, researchers in Seattle published a study in this month’s edition of the Journal of Early Human Development. The study group was small but significant and it will help propel SIDS research forward. Out of a small group of infants who died of SIDS, every single one had an abnormality with the right ear. Interestingly, the left ear in every infant was normal. So far, … Continue reading →

Car Seats Put Infants at Risk for SIDS?

I have to say right off the bat that my title for this is misleading. (But truth be told, I couldn’t think of an appropriately short title. . .) So here is my disclaimer: you should always put your infant in a car seat while driving. Car seats in and of themselves are not dangerous. But new research suggests you might want to avoid long errands out and make sure your seat is fitted properly to your vehicle when your infant is young. A study, done in a university in Canada reconstructed the unexpected deaths of approximately 500 infants over … Continue reading →

Cause of SIDS?

A recent report from Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston has linked a specific brain malfunction with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly known as SIDS. In a lot of ways this is really ground breaking research. Up until this point, no one has definitely pointed to one cause for SIDS. However, researchers have noted several risk factors for SIDS, including sleeping on the stomach, and smoking. Furthermore, this study suggests that SIDS may even be preventable. By identifying the part of the brain responsible, doctors will be able to identify those infants at risk for SIDS. The study was … Continue reading →

Crib Bumpers Are Dangerous

Crib bumpers are decorative. They help make a baby’s crib look softer, warmer, and more visually appealing. Unfortunately, crib bumpers can also be dangerous. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents not use any crib bumpers at all. The AAP has a lot of great advice for parents. Follow that advice, and you can help to keep your baby safe. Many parents have heard the “back to sleep” advice from the AAP. The simple phrase makes it easy for parents to remember to place their baby on his or her back for sleep – and to do that … Continue reading →

Some Ads in Parenting Magazines Show Unsafe Practices

Flip through a parenting magazine while you are in line at the grocery store, or while waiting for your child to see the doctor. The photos and images your eyes skim over might actually be showing children who are doing unsafe things. These pretty photos in the advertisements may give parents the wrong idea when it comes to child safety. Parenting magazines, of course, are intended to be read by parents. These magazines offer advice on everything from nutrition and health issues, to how to cope when your child is having a public “meltdown”. One would reasonably assume that the … Continue reading →