Not all parents think about whether the baby sleeps well. It seems to put the baby to bed, what else is needed? In fact, everything is not so simple. Improper posture of a child, toys and extra pillows in a crib can cause serious harm to the health of a newborn baby, and even provoke sudden infant mortality syndrome (SIDS).
How to improve the quality of sleep and prevent SIDS in infants, is described in the book of the famous pediatrician from the United States Harvey Carp. Here are 9 recommendations from this doctor that will help young parents organize healthy baby sleep.
The safest posture for sleeping
The baby should only sleep on his back. Only in this position is there no threat of SIDS for the child. And mom, who every time tries to lay the baby on a barrel or on the tummy, must remember that in this way she makes the risk of baby death by suffocation by 12 times with her own hands.
Crib is not a place for toys
Any soft surface is a direct threat to the baby. In the cradle there can only be a dense mattress tightly covered with a diaper or sheet. No need to put rattles there, and there is no place in the crib for soft toys and all kinds of pillows. The safest cots with mesh sides, without unnecessary frills and canopies. It is terrible to think what could happen if the baby accidentally gets entangled in tissue folds in a dream and cannot breathe!
Swaddling before bedtime
Swaddling even the most restless baby will help to fall asleep, but this is done so that the crumbs cannot release the arms and legs from the diapers. A good way out is a swaddle bag in which it is simply impossible to get confused. According to pediatricians, sleeping in diapers reminds the baby the last weeks of her mother’s stomach, where it was warm and crowded. The baby will sleep much more calmly, since it will not be able to wake itself up by moving its leg or handle.
The child should sleep separately from parents
Harvey Karp believes that it is safer for an infant to sleep in its own bed until about 9-10 months, because according to statistics, 70% of deaths in infancy from suffocation occurred in the parents' bed. Young parents are very tired and exhausted during the day, so they sleep very soundly and soundly. Dr. Karp defines this condition as “a drunken man’s dream.”Parents can simply miss the moment when the baby bury his face somewhere and can not breathe.
Until six months, the child sleeps in a room with parents
According to statistics from American pediatricians in children sleeping with their parents in the same room, SIDS is reduced by 50%. Putting the baby to sleep in a separate room should not be earlier than 6 months, but better after he turns one year old. By the way, sharing in one room at night has many advantages, because in order to feed the baby or change his diaper, mother does not need to run to another room.
Do not leave a sleeping baby on adult sofas and armchairs.
Sometimes mothers, feeding and rocking the baby, puts him to sleep on the couch. Dr. Harvey considers this unacceptable. After all, the baby can roll to the floor and be injured. There is a great risk that, as already mentioned, the baby will bury its face in the soft upholstery of the furniture and suffocate.
Breastfeed as long as possible
American scientists have found that newborns who are breast-fed up to 4 months are exposed to SIDS by 40% less than the "artificial". And those babies whom the mother fed with her milk for up to 6 months - by 60%. That is why all pediatricians urge women to breast-feed their baby for as long as possible, since breast milk helps to strengthen the baby's health.
The baby must sleep with a pacifier
The dream of many parents is to wean the baby off the dummy nipples as soon as possible, but Dr. Harvey Karp argues that there is no hurry in this matter. As it turned out, there is evidence that the dummy in the baby's mouth significantly reduces the risk of SIDS.
Optimal microclimate in the nursery
In order for the baby to sleep soundly all night, you need to create the conditions for a comfortable sleep indoors. The temperature in the room should not exceed 22⁰C. In the bedroom it is unacceptable to smoke, light candles and aroma lamps, to melt a stove or fireplace. Any unpleasant smell can disrupt the baby’s sleep, which means that the threat of SIDS increases.
It is important to remember that the sleep and wakefulness regime of all children is individual, therefore parents should not break the "sleepy habits" of their child. If the baby is healthy, his body himself will feel how much time he needs for a good rest, and the task of mom and dad is to ensure the comfort and safety of baby sleep.
On the topic of sleep:
- How to calm a crying child (31 tips. Part 2). + 5 steps according to the method of Harvey Carp
- An ingenious trick - how to put a child to sleep in 1 minute
- How to put a child to sleep without tears and vagaries;
- We teach a child to sleep in his crib separately from his mother (videos, real stories);
- Whether to rock the child before bedtime: how old can you get sick;
- The child sleeps only in the arms, but put it wakes up - problem or not;
- At what age can a child sleep on a pillow.
