Is Your Baby Crib Bedding Set Lethal?

Over 6000 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are reported each year, and more than 900 of these are due to babies' soft baby bedding sets. Thus, you must ask yourself if your baby bedding is 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. Plush mattresses provide maximum comfort for babies but are a safety threat as well. To avoid fatal accidents when the baby is sleeping, there should be someone always nearby to keep an eye on the position of the baby's head. When the baby's head is placed on the soft mattress, they may not have enough strength to come back in a good position.

Parents can prevent suffocation by ensuring that their baby has a firm mattress to sleep on. You can assess the strength of a mattress with the simple test of pressing one hand down on the mattress and guaging the resistance to the force applied. A mattress with the strongest resistance is is best.

The crib is where babies should be safe, but too many times parents do not realize the danger they are in when they are in their cribs. Bumper pads are carelessly added in the crib without thinking that they may suffocate a baby if it will totally cover a baby's face.

Parents should take extra care for infants, as during this time infants are very weak. While some recommend firmer bumper pads, the best option is to remove bumpers from the crib entirely. The reason for this is that there are rare cases of strangulation by the bumper pad strings, and of suffocation between the pads and another object.

In addition, recent research has revealed that there are toxic gases in mattresses that can be detrimental to your baby's development. Dangerous chemicals have been found to be added to mattresses as fire retardants, but they are dangerous chemical compounds containing phosphorus and arsenic. Poisonous, lethal gases are released once these chemical compounds interact with reactants. Baby naturally breathes in a large amount of it during sleep, and this can be fatal.

It's ironic but the fungus sometimes found in a baby's bedding, that we thought is harmful, is actually the one helping to release poisonous gases according to some findings. Do note use nursery bedding which may contain fungus. This may happen if the bedding has been used for a long 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. Besides, new baby nursery bedding will be prettier and more personalized than an old, reused one anyway.

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 bedding sets available (one of my favorites is the Maya baby bedding by Trend Lab), so there is no need to sacrifice style for safety.

Parents should be able to guage the safety of their baby's bedding if they consider all these factors. If not, purchase a new, safe bedding option so that your baby can sleep safely and you can sleep without worries.