Creating a safe sleep environment for babies is one of the most important steps parents can take to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths. Over the past several decades, research into safe sleep practices for infants, crib mattress safety, and airflow during sleep has significantly improved our understanding of how babies breathe while sleeping.
Understanding the science behind SIDS prevention, infant suffocation risks, and breathable crib mattresses can help parents make better decisions when choosing sleep products for their babies.
When we first introduced our breathable mattresses in 2010, the science of safe sleep for babies was well underway and progress was being made in furthering our understanding of the causes of SIDS. Among the most important initiatives was the establishment of new nationwide death scene investigation reporting or DSI’s established for all SIDS related cases. Findings from years of DSI reports along with several recent landmark scientific studies, the safe sleep community began to realize that the occurrence of SIDS is not necessarily caused by a single event but several events occurring simultaneously, the proverbial perfect storm. This is why fully understanding the causes of SIDS is so extremely difficult. We must accept the fact that we may never fully understand the causes related to SIDS.
However, one thing is for certain, the AAP’s, American Academy of Pediatrics, “Back to Sleep Campaign” which started in the mid 1990’s was an unprecedented success in helping to prevent SIDS. In the matter of just a few years the rate of SIDS was cut in half, from 8,000 babies per year down to around 4,000.
But despite the success of this campaign the fact remains that the number of SIDS cases has still been constant over the past thirty years. This begs the question, by putting babies to sleep on their backs, what was being prevented from happening that has led to such a dramatic decline in SIDS?
The answer is suffocation.
The lives of thousands of babies were saved each year simply by putting them to sleep on their backs ensuring constant and uninterrupted airflow. There are two forms of infant suffocation, asphyxiation caused by C02 rebreathing or airflow resistance caused by airway obstruction. They can occur separately or in some combination with each other, but the outcome can be fatal. There are often other contributing factors as well such as an elevated body temperature.
Infant Suffocation and Sleep Safety Risks
Therefore, is it safe to say that of the approximately four thousand babies that are still dying every year from SIDS that none of them are dying from suffocation?
This question is still being debated among leading SIDS experts, but it is fair to say that suffocation is still a serious threat to the lives of babies. Research into infant sleep safety and airflow during sleep continues to examine how mattress surfaces, bedding, and sleeping positions may affect a baby’s ability to breathe freely while sleeping.
Studies have shown that a particular group of babies that are still at elevated risk for SIDS are those considered to be inexperienced tummy sleepers. These are babies that prefer to sleep on their tummies and begin to roll over from their backs to their fronts at an early age. Some babies are known to roll over as early as two months.
Evidence also suggests that tummy sleeping is the preferred sleeping position for a high percentage of babies. The danger is while they may have enough strength to roll over, they may not have sufficient strength to self-rescue in the event they place themselves in a position where they are not getting enough oxygen, a condition known as positional asphyxiation.
It is also important to note that most SIDS cases occur during the first six months of a baby’s life, which is why pediatricians and safe sleep organizations strongly encourage parents to follow recommended safe sleep guidelines for infants.
Evolving Baby Mattress Safety Standards
As further evidence of the ongoing threat that suffocation poses to sleeping infants, new baby mattress firmness standards have gone into effect here in the US and abroad. Australia the country which introduced the firmness standard is now on the verge of implementing the world’s first C02 Rebreathing standard.
Once this standard goes into effect it will redefine safe sleep for babies in Australia and potentially around the world. Given what we now know regarding the causes of SIDS the adoption of a new air flow resistance standard for all infant related sleep products is just a matter of time.
These emerging standards are helping researchers better understand the role that mattress firmness, airflow, and breathability may play in reducing the risk of infant suffocation.
The Risk of Breathable Sleep Products for Babies
With the ongoing threat posed by infant suffocation there has been a substantial increase in the number of breathable sleep products for babies. Breathable crib mattresses are now recognized by the safe sleep community and an ever-increasing number of consumers to provide babies with a safer and healthier sleep alternative.
For the past several years, breathable sleep products have been the fastest growing segment of the baby mattress industry.
Parents today are increasingly researching breathable crib mattresses, infant mattress safety, and SIDS prevention products to ensure they are providing the safest sleep environment possible for their babies.
When we introduced our highly breathable mattresses back in 2010, we were among the first to enter this new and emerging market. We had created a solution to a problem that the baby mattress industry did not know existed.
The science of safe sleep has now confirmed the numerous safety and health benefits of our highly breathable mattresses for babies and determined them to be suffocation proof.
Unlike most baby manufacturers we welcome scientific testing to make a baby’s sleeping environment as safe as possible.
Our breathable mattresses have been scientifically evaluated for the following:
- CO2 dissipation
- CO2 rebreathing
- Air flow resistance
- Body temperature regulation
- Body pressure points
- Firmness
Our test results confirm that our Breathe Easy Baby mattresses provide babies with the safest, healthiest, and most comfortable mattresses available.
This is not to say that conventional baby mattresses are inherently unsafe. We are saying that based on a preponderance of scientific evidence confirming the safety and health related benefits of our highly breathable mattresses, why would you use any other mattress for your baby?
