New sleep safety recommendations for infants went into effect this past Tuesday. Baby sleep safety standards have been modified by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The revised guidelines emphasize the need of placing newborns with their back sides to the bed, on level, non-inclined surfaces. The dangers of sleeping with a partner were also addressed in the policy statement.
Nearly 3,500 American newborns die each year from sleep-related causes, including SIDS and unintentional asphyxia or strangling in bed, according to the research.
Suffocation, wedging, and trapping may all be prevented by placing newborns on flat, sturdy, and non-inclined surfaces while they sleep. The revised instructions also said that cardboard boxes should not be used as short-term crisis sleep sites or for bed-sharing.
For a number of reasons including facilitating nursing, cultural preferences, and feeling that it is healthier and safer for their newborn, the AAP acknowledges and recognizes that many parents want to share a bed regularly.
The AAP stated that, in light of the data, they are unable to encourage bed-sharing at all. Parents can better attend to their newborn’s needs if the infant sleeps in a crib or bassinet next to them.
In addition, parents should be mindful that elements including tiredness, pillows, and blankets might raise the dangers of bed-sharing, according to the group.
It was recommended that belly time be included, that pacifiers be used only after breastfeeding had been established, and that home cardiopulmonary monitoring be avoided in order to decrease SIDS. These were all changes made to the AAP’s baby-safe sleep guidelines.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2021 statement of a ban on various sleep devices, including inclined sleepers, seems to be in accordance with the new criteria.
New newborn sleep items must be no more than 10 degrees above or below horizontal by the time the rule takes effect on June 23, 2022.
