The safest place for baby's sleep is in their own crib in the same room as their parents or caregivers. There is strong scientific evidence that babies should always sleep on their backs and never on their sides or on their stomachs.
But what happens if your baby turns around while sleeping? Should you turn it on its back? If you can turn around by yourself, it is not necessary, but if you cannot, you should turn it upside down.
Why is it so important that they sleep on their backs?
Sudden deaths in babies (sudden deaths during childhood, including sudden infant death syndrome and fatal accidents during sleep) have fallen 80% since campaigns were introduced to encourage safe sleep in babies in the 90s and it is estimated that only in Australia has already saved the lives of more than 9,500 children.
There is now irrefutable evidence from different countries that babies who sleep on their stomachs (prone position) are much more at risk of sudden death. Science has also concluded that sleeping on your side is not safe for babies, since many go to sleep on their stomachs shortly after being put aside. Premature babies are more at risk of sudden death.
The posture we sleep in marks the ease of waking up during sleep, as well as the number of times we do it. Waking up during sleep is a physical protection mechanism that babies do not yet have and that is why a sudden death can occur.
When we fall asleep, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing slow down, causing us to pause breathing (apnea). If we wake up during sleep, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing accelerate.
Studies in babies have shown that putting a baby upside down not only makes it much harder for him to wake up during sleepIt also causes blood pressure to drop and reduces the amount of oxygen in the brain.
Sometimes parents put their babies upside down because they "sleep better this way," but it's only because they don't wake up so many times if they sleep in that posture.
In the crib there should be nothing apart from the baby.
Some parents worry that if they put their baby to sleep on their backs, it can suffocate, but if we look at the airways of a baby we can see that Babies who sleep on their backs are less likely to choke on their own vomit than those who sleep on their stomachs.
When facing up, the upper part of the respiratory tract is above the esophagus, hence the regurgitated milk that rises through the esophagus is swallowed again and does not pass into the respiratory system. However, if the baby is upside down, the esophagus is located above the upper part of the airways, so if the baby regurgitates or vomits milk, it is easier for the milk or fluid to enter the airways and reach the lungs.
The Conversation, CC BY-ND
What happens if my baby turns around while sleeping?
With only four months the babies already begin to turn around alone, although they may not do so until six months because they first need to develop stronger muscles in the neck and arms to be able to do so.
Babies should always be put to sleep on their backs, but once they can turn around alone, they can be allowed to sleep in the posture they prefer (approximately at five or six months). If babies still cannot turn around on their own, then parents should change their position and turn them on their backs if they are found sleeping on their stomachs.
There are wedge-shaped pillows and positioners to prevent babies from turning around, but their use is not recommended because they can present a choking hazard. In the crib there should be no object beyond the baby and a blanket so that it does not go cold.
An important notice about wrapping or bandaging the baby
If you wrap or bandage your baby to sleep, you should adapt it as it grows. Babies of two or three months can be wrapped with their arms inside to reduce the effects of the Moro reflex or when they startle if they feel they are not subject and have the sensation of falling.
Babies older than three months may have the lower part wrapped, but the arms must be free so that they do not have problems using their hands and fingers, being able to appease themselves and reduce the risk of turning them upside down.
Moro's reflex should disappear after four or five months, so it is no longer necessary to wrap them. Wrapping or bandaging a baby should stop being done as soon as the baby starts turning and you should NEVER put a baby to sleep on your stomach if it is wrapped or bandaged.
There are more and more child care products on the market to wrap babies and there is very little evidence that they improve the position of babies when they sleep, that they avoid turning around or that the risk of sudden death is reduced .
However, there is evidence that well-adjusted baby sleeping bags (those that fit in the neck area do not have sleeves and are the right size for the baby's weight) can help reduce the risk of sudden death because they make the baby take longer to turn around and eliminate the need to wrap the baby in the crib.
Author: Rosemary horne, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of The Ritchie Center, Monash University.
This article has originally been published in The Conversation. You can read the original article here.
Translated by Silvestre Urbón.
