Pillows are a familiar item commonly found in any bedroom or living or resting space. The fragrant, soft, and comfortable pillows can help you sleep better and more comfortably. Great, but at any age is the right age to use pillows? Should babies lie on pillows? The truth about the dangers that pillows pose to an infant's sleep can surprise fathers and mothers.
6 potential risks when using pillows for babies
Many adults often find it difficult to sleep without lying on a familiar pillow and think that children need it as well. The truth is not really like that. Mothers will find out the answers about whether to give babies pillows or not if they know about the 6 potential risks of giving babies pillows too early and using them incorrectly.
Risk of suffocation
At this age, the child's neck bones and cartilage are very soft, so they are unable to lift their neck. When lying on soft pillows, your baby's head can sink deeply into the pillow. Moreover, when a child turns his head or lies on his side to one side, the pillow can cover the baby's nostrils, leading to suffocation.
If you use hard pillows and let the baby lie in the wrong position, the head will protrude higher than the child's body, causing the neck bone to be pressed into a curve, the chin is close to the chest due to the folded neck and oropharynx. where the breath passes will be stopped. This will make your baby more likely to choke, leading to difficulty breathing, respiratory failure and possibly suffocation.
In addition, if mothers use pillows stuffed with green pea pods or intestines made from foam seeds, the plastic beads will easily come off and fall into the child's airways, causing asphyxiation.
Babies can suddenly die from using pillows too soon
Putting a baby in a pillow too early not only makes him vulnerable to suffocation, but also increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This is a condition in which a healthy infant dies suddenly and has no known cause. According to statistics, these unfortunate incidents usually occur mainly in children under 1 year old while sleeping.
According to judgment, the most likely culprit causing sudden death syndrome in newborns is seemingly harmless pillows. Because when they sleep, young children often have no sense of self-control. If babies move and turn, unconsciously flip and lie on their tummy, their head will be pressed tightly against the pillow, making it difficult for them to move easily. Because pillows are concave and surround the head, there is not enough air for the baby to breathe and cause unfortunate accidents. Thus, the risk of death from giving babies pillow too early is entirely possible.
Bed pillows early is the reason why babies are prone to allergies
It is a place in direct contact with the scalp and absorb a large amount of sweat, dead skin cells from the child's body every day, however, pillows are not ventilated enough for sweat to completely evaporate. From there, creating the ideal environment for bacteria and allergens to thrive. Meanwhile, babies have extremely sensitive skin and the immune system is not really complete, so it is easy to get itchy, even when contact with the material of the pillow shell or intestine is not guaranteed.
Newborn babies sleep on pillows, deforming their skulls
Sleeping on a soft pillow for too long can lead to flat head, also known as flattening, in a baby. This is the phenomenon of infants lying on one side for too long to create a dent in one or both ears, with a flat baby on the back of the neck. The reason is that the baby's skull is still very soft. Furthermore, during the first year of life, an infant's head circumference grows very rapidly. If the baby is on the pillow too early, the baby's head may not be balanced and symmetrical due to the enlarged skull and distort the head structure.
Pillows adversely affect the skeletal system due to scoliosis
Unlike adults, an infant's spine is a straight line, with equal head and shoulder sizes. Using a pillow while sleeping will prevent the infant's body from lying on a flat surface. Since then, the head and body rotation movements also become difficult, at the same time the baby's neck is twisted to one side, affecting the development of the skeletal system and the risk of spinal defects in the child is very high.
Also according to experts, the newborn's head and neck are very weak, so if the baby lies on the wrong size and height pillows for many consecutive hours, the baby can dislocate from the pillow. and sprained the neck.
Pillow material easily causes heat fluctuations
Because the baby's ability to regulate heat is not as good as that of adults, when using pillows with non-ventilated materials, babies lie for a long time, the temperature below the head will rise and cause heat fluctuations to the whole body, causing fever. Suddenly high. If not well controlled, it is one of the causes that can be fatal and life threatening.
In many documented cases, premature babies who lie on pillows also experience heat stroke, especially in winter. The sweat that cannot be released is absorbed again, making the baby more susceptible to colds.
When is the right time to give a baby a pillow?
In fact, whether or not an infant should lie on a pillow depends on each child's developmental stage. According to medical experts, in the face of unforeseen risks that can occur in sleep, the use of pillows for babies, especially newborn subjects, is completely unnecessary.
Moreover, from birth to before learning, the baby's spine is still straight, so when the baby is lying on his back without a pillow, it is better for the baby's skeletal development because the back and nape are on the same side. plane. In addition, an infant's head is usually as big as shoulder width, so even when the baby is lying on his side, pillows are not needed.
From a study by leading experts in the UK on sleep safety, newborn babies over 12 months old should use pillows while sleeping . Using pillows too early will hinder the growth and development of the child, not to mention it can lead to the dangerous consequences as mentioned above. If you pay attention, parents will also see that, soon after the baby falls asleep, the baby will not need to lie on the pillow but can still sleep well and feel comfortable. So the mother can also wait until the baby is 2 years old, start giving the baby a pillow, even having a baby sleeping without a pillow until 3 years old is also completely normal.
Together with mother to help the baby have a good sleep
Before waiting for the appropriate age to start giving your baby a pillow, you can choose a soft towel or a thin pillow with a thickness of only about 1mm to let your baby sleep. When your baby reaches the age to use a pillow, do not forget the following important notes to help your baby have a good night's sleep:
In order for your baby to have a good night's sleep, you should choose a pillow with moderate hardness, appropriate size, the width just equal to or slightly larger than the baby's shoulder length, about 30 x 40cm. The thickness of the pillow should be selected by age.
The pillow case and pillowcase should be made of a breathable, soft, sweat absorbent material. Regularly wash pillows and dry in the sun, preventing bacteria and mildew from entering and damaging the delicate skin of infants.
While sleeping, parents pay attention to change the head position for children at least every 2 hours to avoid flat head syndrome. In particular, the position of the child's bed or crib must always be under the control of an adult to ensure maximum safety.
When you put your baby to sleep, you should adjust to the position of a pillow deeply towards the nape of the neck, close to the neck, shoulder, neck slightly arched, leaning back 10 to 15 degrees will help children have the safest and most comfortable sleep.
Conclusion
Compared to adults, a child's sleep time is much longer, but it doesn't always need pillows to sleep. With the shared experience, surely fathers and mothers know clearly whether to give babies a pillow or not and when the baby starts to lie down on the pillow when. Have a good night's sleep on the safe pillows that mom has prepared!
see more
If you don't let your baby lie on a pillow, will your baby have a flat head?
Are pillows really necessary for babies?
Should babies be hammock?