Korean Job Discussion Forums

[canadian_in_korea]

As most of you know my daughter is 15 years old, and apparently some things have changed since she was a baby.. Last night on the news they were talking about SIDS. Overheating was mentioned, no more than one blanket in baby's crib, not too many clothes on baby (when I had my daughter they told me to only put one layer more on her than I would wear, perhaps like a thin sweater over her things so this seems to be similar), don't put baby in bed with mom and dad, all the basic stuff I guess.....but....the sleeping position. I was always told to put babies on their side, now they say put them on their back....this seems more dangerous to me, what if the baby spits up ..? I had an uncle die this way, perhaps I'm overly paranoid of the possibility of it happening. So just out of curiousity, what position do you put your baby in to sleep? Back or side..? I'm assuming nobody puts their baby on their stomach anymore.

[fidel]

Babies tend to roll around a lot once they are over X months old, I think it's impossible to get them to stay on their side and invariably they end up on their back.

[crazylemongirl]

The worst postion for a baby when sleeping is to be on is on his/her stomach. But when a baby is on his/her side she can roll on to his/her stomach which is why it is now recommended that babys sleep on their back

Here's some info here.

also some info about avoding flat heads

[kelly]

I put my baby on his stomach its the only way he'll sleep. but I have a monitor which sends off an alarm if it feels no movement for 20seconds. Gives a bit of piece of mind.

[tzechuk]

CIK... Letty is 6 months, just out of the highest SIDS age range but the risk is still there.

Frankly, I did a lot of what they told me I shouldn't do, including putting her to sleep on her tummy and co-sleeping. I debated it long and hard to before I decided to put her to sleep on her tummy. It was either a good sleep for her or no sleep as she couldn't quite breathe if she was put on her back. Also, she hated being swaddled, so she would startle herself awake when she was on her back.

Well.. she is still alive, so it couldn't have been that bad!

The thing is... no one REALLY know what causes SIDS... there could be a whole array of reasons why SIDS occur, including genetic defects.

With all the advice out there, I feel that we, as parents, can only listen and believe so much.. after that, it's up to us to use our own judgement to decide what is best for our babies.

Good luck

[anae]

The back to sleep campaign has lowered the SIDS rates considerably, so it is worth doing. We don't know yet why. There is a doctor in New Zealand with a theory that SIDS is related to fire-retardant chemicals in the mattresses that babies breathe in. However, the jury is still out and no other country seems to have adopted that theory.

Don't worry about baby choking on her back. My daughter is a big spitter-upper. Babies naturally turn their heads when they spit up. I had to get a sleep positioner for her when she first came home from the hospital, because she would roll on her side all of the time and have her face up against the bassinette.

It is also recommended to forego bumper pads in the crib along with the quilts, pillows, stuffed toys etc. I found those sleeping sacks to be quite useful. I didn't have to worry about them covering her face and she can't kick them off in the middle of the night.

[Derrek]

Have heard it might have something to do with lack of oxygen around the baby's head. If they lay on their stomach, air may not circulate enough between the nose and folds in blankets, etc. They slowly suffocate.

I have a feeling that there are several possibilities.

[crazylemongirl]

[turtlepi1]

I also read at one point that women flying during preg. or in the critical stages often increased the incidence of SIDS. How do you think that would make a mother feel who had to fly and had no other options.

I still cringe when I see them on the plane even though I have no idea whether this study held any weight or not.

[taegu girl]

Well my little boy is now 7 months and my husband went to lamaze class and child care classes at a hospital while i was pregnant. He was born in CA, USA

We were told by the nurses conducting the classes that SIDS happens more with males than females. Also we were told to put him on his back for sleeping and that once he got to the point that he could roll over and did it naturally in his sleep, it was not a big deal anymore how he slept. As Tzechuk mentioned, after 6 months old, it is less dangerous. I still do not put blankets over him since he moves constantly in his sleep and could get stuck under a blanket. He got stuck under the bumper in his crib (bumper was resting on his neck) and i freaked out and he was crying. I also put him on his back when i put him to bed but that is mostly out of habit.
American Baby and Babytalk are 2 good magazines geared toward moms and babies, i believe you can read at least some of the articles online if you type the names into a search engine.

[taegu girl]

Well my little boy is now 7 months and my husband went to lamaze class and child care classes at a hospital while i was pregnant. He was born in CA, USA

We were told by the nurses conducting the classes that SIDS happens more with males than females. Also we were told to put him on his back for sleeping and that once he got to the point that he could roll over and did it naturally in his sleep, it was not a big deal anymore how he slept. As Tzechuk mentioned, after 6 months old, it is less dangerous. I still do not put blankets over him since he moves constantly in his sleep and could get stuck under a blanket. He got stuck under the bumper in his crib (bumper was resting on his neck) and i freaked out and he was crying. I also put him on his back when i put him to bed but that is mostly out of habit.
American Baby and Babytalk are 2 good magazines geared toward moms and babies, i believe you can read at least some of the articles online if you type the names into a search engine.

[canadian_in_korea]

Thanks so much for all the info. There seems to be a lot more information on the New Zealand websites than any of the others. For the first few months after my daughter was born I had her sleeping in her carriage, right beside me. I think at first we'll go with a basinet, after a few months move to a crib. I almost forgot how much I worried after she was born.

[The Lemon]

As a paranoid and overprotective father, I tried to learn a whole lot about SIDS over the last year and a half. The best explination I found is that it's because some kids temporarily lack the brain mechanism that says, "hey, I'm in a position where I can't breathe, better squirm or something". So, baby doesn't move, and dies.

This is why doctors recommend babies sleeping on backs, away from heavy blankets, pillows, crib edges or other suffocation risks.

There's also a cultural issue here, where Asians consider it normal/preferable for babies to sleep with their parents in real beds, while western governmental health agencies say babies should only be in proper cribs.