Infants in Car Seats May Not Get Enough Oxygen

Submitted by Courtney on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 19:48

When my little one was first born, I was always concerned about how well he could hold his head up. This concern wasn’t really an issue until I would continuously find his head tilted downwards into his chest after he decided to take a nap in his car seat. As much as I hated to wake him, I would have to just so I could reposition and support his head and neck.

Car Seat Studies

It wasn’t long before I came across a study online which indicated just how little oxygen babies in car seats were receiving (DNAIndia.com). Out of 43 babies, aged 3 days to 6 months, 9 of them were left to sleep soundly in their car seats (something that most of us as mothers do). After a short time, all 9 babies all began to turn from pink to an unhealthy bluish shade, with 4 of them being completely unresponsive. Fortunately these babies were all easily resuscitated and no one was critically injured; but that hasn’t been the case for everyone.

The issue came up again about a year ago when I heard a tragic story about a young 2 month old baby boy dying in his car seat. His mother had brought him in from the car as he napped and placed him in his room so he could nap for an hour. Tragically, when she went in to check on him, the poor boy had died. The weight and tilt of his head had completely cut off his airway, and he was too young to have the strength to readjust his head (CBC.ca).

How to Keep Your Baby Safe

What can you do to prevent this from happening? Try to always keep your child in a reclined position when placed in their car seat. To help keep their head from sinking forward, create or purchase an infant neck brace or head supporter (you can use something as easy as a tea towel). If you are expecting to be in the car for an extended period of time, be sure to install a mirror in the backseat of the car so you can always see your baby, and make a pit stop every hour to check on your child and reposition him or her. Most importantly, if you are going to allow your child to sleep in his or her car seat at home, monitor them at all times. Keep them in the same room and within vision so you can readjust his or her head as necessary.

photo by COFFY | MOTIONDESIGN

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