Parents are being urged to avoid a baby sleep pillow that a health visitor says can increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), as well as entrapment, suffocation and overheating.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the sudden and unexplained death of a seemingly healthy infant typically under the age of one. While most cases occur in infants under six months, the highest peak happens between two and four months of age. There is no single or direct cause, but researchers understand it may be a combination of brain development problems, critical age vulnerability and external sleep stress.
Health Visitor's Warning
Ruth Watts, a qualified and registered health visitor in England with over a decade of experience, posted a warning to her nearly 200,000 Instagram followers. She said: "This baby product increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)... Just because something has made it to the market, just because 2.2 million people have liked it, just because influencers are recommending it does not make a product safe."
The pillow in question is designed with arms that cuddle a newborn as it sleeps. Watts added: "This increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the way they are selling it to be used is encouraging for you to use it for unsupervised sleep, which increases the risk even more. This increases the risk of entrapment, suffocation and overheating. It is not safe and this baby is sleeping on its side and the caption initially was 'point of view, you need to go and take a shower'. They've left this baby on an adult bed on their side with something that increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome."
Advice for Parents
In a further reminder, Watts said: "Please, please, please, just because lots of people have liked it, shared it, bought it, does not mean it is safe for you and your baby. I know that's really difficult for parents at the moment because you are the most vulnerable market out there. But if something is being sold and it stops the sleep space from being clear, then it increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. And there is no two ways about it unfortunately."
She advised followers to use expert websites, such as the Lullaby Trust, to learn how to make sleep space as safe as possible.
Safe Sleep Guidelines
Babies must sleep in their own, clear, flat, separate sleep space, like a cot or Moses basket. They must be placed flat on their back and can only sleep in any other position once they have mastered rolling on both sides and back independently. If co-sleeping, it is crucial to have a cot or Moses basket ready for times when sharing a bed is high risk.
Which? reported that baby sleep pillows have been linked to child fatalities in the UK and overseas. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issued a product safety alert last December on baby sleep pillows marketed for little ones under 12 months. The main harms are suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death in babies, and have been associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
