Many Parents Are Putting Their Children To Sleep In An Unsafe Environment [VIDEO]

First Posted: Aug 20, 2016 05:39 AM EDT
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A recent study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics revealed that a lot of parents are putting their babies to sleep in unsafe environments, even with numerous efforts of health care providers and public education campaigns on safety guidelines.

Good Housekeeping recently reported that the study was originally conducted by ABC News to observe what sleeping arrangements new mothers have. For the said study, researchers at the Pennsylvania State College recorded the same group of about 160 infants at 1, 3, and 6 months. However, Dr. Ian Paul, one of the researchers in the study found that the video recording showed parents put these babies at risk by placing them on their sides or stomachs, putting them on surfaces that are either too soft, have loose bedding, or sharing bed with their parents.

"I was surprised and alarmed," said Dr. Paul, a professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at Pennsylvania State College. "I've been a pediatrician for 18 years. I am not naive to think parents listen to everything, but [the fact that] almost every baby had loose bedding in their sleep environment was surprising to me."

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, sleep-related infant deaths are the most common cause of mortality among babies between one month and one year of age. These deaths include sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. USA Today also reported that across the time periods for the study, 10-21 percent of the babies were placed on sleep surfaces not recommended by experts, 14-33 percent were placed on risky positions and 87-93 percent had what experts call "hazardous items" around their sleep surface.

Some of these items include loose blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, bumper pads and sleep positioners. Some of these items were also found on areas where infants sleep with their parents, but the infants' cribs were found to have soft or loose beddings.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that about 3,500 infants in the United States die of SIDS every year. So in order to tackle the problem, the National Institutes of Health launched the Safety to Sleep campaign designed to educate parents on what measures they can take to lower their child's risk of any sleep-related deaths.

"There is a lot we can do to reduce the risk a baby will die from SIDS or accidental smothering or strangulation," said ABC News Chief Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser, also a pediatrician. "The Safe to Sleep campaign has been very successful at reducing the rate of SIDS, but accidental suffocation and strangulation are on the rise."

Dr. Besser also said that the observations where babies are moved in the middle of the night are putting them more at risk for untoward situations should be given importance too.


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