Cribs are for sleeping, car seats are for traveling
Danger in using sitting and carrying devices for sleeping infants
2015-04-24
(Press-News.org) Cincinnati, OH, April 24, 2015 -- Sleep-related deaths are the most common cause of death for infants 1-12 months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep on their back on a firm mattress, without loose bedding. However, many parents use sitting or carrying devices, such as car seats, swings, or bouncers, as alternative sleeping environments, which could lead to potential injury or death. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers describe how the improper use of these items can lead to infant deaths.
Erich K. Batra, MD, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and colleagues from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Children's National Medical Center reviewed deaths that were reported to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, of children under 2 years of age that occurred in sitting and carrying devices between April 2004 and December 2008. According to Dr. Batra, "Many parents use sitting or carrying devices, not realizing that there are hazards when they do this." The data include information from death certificates, reports from medical examiners and coroners, and interviews with family members and witnesses.
The researchers analyzed records for 47 deaths associated with sitting and carrying devices; all but one were attributed to asphyxia (positional or strangulation). Two-thirds of the cases involved car seats; strangulation from straps accounted for 52% of the car seat deaths. The remainder of deaths occurred in slings, swings, bouncers, and strollers. The elapsed time from when the infants were last seen alive to when they were discovered ranged from as little as four minutes to up to 11 hours. The study included newborns as well as toddlers.
It is important to note that an infant in a properly positioned car seat, in a car, with properly attached straps is at little risk from a suffocation injury. However, contrary to popular belief, the restraints and design of infant sitting or carrying devices are not intended for unsupervised sleeping. "Infants and young children should not be left unsupervised when using a sitting or carrying device due to the risk of suffocation and death," notes Dr. Batra.
The authors offer the following advice to parents when using infant sitting or carrying devices:
(1) Do not leave children unsupervised (awake or asleep);
(2) Never leave children in a car seat with unbuckled or partially buckled straps;
(3) Car seats should never be placed on a soft or unstable surface;
(4) Infants in bouncers, strollers, and swings may be able to maneuver into positions that could compromise their airway; straps on these devices may not prevent infants from getting into hazardous situations;
(5) Ensure that infants cannot twist their heads into soft bedding or slump forward in a seat; restraints should be used according to manufacturer's instructions;
(6) Slings are particularly hazardous because of their design and the ease with which an infant's airway can be collapsed. If used, the infant's face should be "visible and kissable" at all times; and
(7) Do not place more than one infant together in a swing meant for one infant.
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-04-24
Turmeric - the familiar yellow spice common in Indian and Asian cooking - may play a therapeutic role in oral cancers associated with human papillomavirus, according to new research published in ecancermedicalscience.
One of the herb's key active ingredients - an antioxidant called curcumin - appears to have a quelling effect on the activity of human papillomavirus (HPV).
HPV is a virus that promotes the development of cervical and oral cancer. There is no cure, but curcumin may offer a means of future control.
"Turmeric has established antiviral and anti-cancer properties," ...
2015-04-23
SEATTLE - Today, Americans are more likely to be heavy drinkers and binge drinkers than in recent years due in large part to rising rates of drinking among women, according to a new analysis of county-level drinking patterns in the United States.
By contrast, the percentage of people who drink any alcohol has remained relatively unchanged over time, according to the latest research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
Published in the American Journal of Public Health on April 23, the study "Drinking patterns in ...
2015-04-23
SAN FRANCISCO - New ophthalmology research from the University of Miami shows that dry eye - the little understood culprit behind red, watery, gritty feeling eyes - strikes most often in spring, just as airborne allergens are surging. The study marks the first time that researchers have discovered a direct correlation between seasonal allergens and dry eye, with both pollen and dry eye cases reaching a yearly peak in the month of April. The paper was published online today in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dry eye can significantly ...
2015-04-23
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- New genetic data suggest the red lionfish invasion in the Caribbean Basin and Western Atlantic started in multiple locations, not just one as previously believed, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Florida has often been cited as the likely location of the introduction, but the new research suggests multiple introductions occurred, with some potentially coming from the more southern parts of the range. The Caribbean Basin stretches from parts of Florida's Gulf Coast through South America.
Genetically unraveling the progression ...
2015-04-23
GAINESVILLE, Fla.--Many loggerhead sea turtles that nest in Dry Tortugas National Park head to rich feeding sites in the Bahamas after nesting, a discovery that may help those working to protect this threatened species.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey used satellites to track the population of loggerheads that nest in the Dry Tortugas - the smallest subpopulation of loggerheads in the northwest Atlantic - and found the turtles actually spend a considerable portion of their lives in the Bahamas, returning to the Dry Tortugas to nest every two-to-five years. ...
2015-04-23
Why do animals fight with members of other species? A nine-year study by UCLA biologists says the reason often has to do with "obtaining priority access to females" in the area.
The scientists observed and analyzed the behavior of several species of Hetaerina damselflies, also known as rubyspot damselflies. For the study, published this month in the print edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers observed more than 100 damselflies a day in their natural habitat along rivers and streams in Texas, Arizona and Mexico.
Male damselflies always ...
2015-04-23
As the world's exponentially growing demand for digital data slows the Internet and cell phone communication, City College of New York researchers may have just figured out a new way to increase its speed.
Giovanni Milione, a PhD student under City College Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering Robert Alfano, led the pioneering experiment conducted at the University of Southern California with collaborators from Corning Incorporated, Scotland, Italy and Canada.
"Conventional methods of data transmission use light which has the fastest speed in the universe. ...
2015-04-23
Polymer science will have to add a new giant molecule to its lexicon thanks to a cutting-edge discovery at The University of Akron. Taking a revolutionary "building blocks" approach, researchers have pioneered a way to create a new class of very large polymer molecules, called macromolecules, which assemble themselves into strong, stable structures. The work has been done in collaboration with researchers at Peking University in China and The University of Tokyo in Japan. Their findings have been published in the April 24, 2015 issue of Science magazine.
A team led by ...
2015-04-23
We know of about two dozen runaway stars, and have even found one runaway star cluster escaping its galaxy forever. Now, astronomers have spotted 11 runaway galaxies that have been flung out of their homes to wander the void of intergalactic space.
"These galaxies are facing a lonely future, exiled from the galaxy clusters they used to live in," said astronomer Igor Chilingarian (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics/Moscow State University). Chilingarian is the lead author of the study, which is appearing in the journal Science.
An object is a runaway if it's ...
2015-04-23
You think that your immune system is there to protect you. But what happens when it starts working against you?
In the earliest stages of cancer formation, the immune system is forced to make a momentous decision. It either activates and suppresses tumor growth to help the body fight disease, or it becomes dysfunctional, helping the tumor grow and making treatment more difficult. Because this tipping point occurs before a person even realizes something is wrong, doctors are unable to directly observe this critical stage.
"We believe that when immune cells enter a tumor ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Cribs are for sleeping, car seats are for traveling
Danger in using sitting and carrying devices for sleeping infants
