Prevent Your Child From Sleeping in the Car Seat Outside the Car
It may seem convenient to let your sleeping baby continue to doze in the car seat after you reach your destination, but it could put them at risk, says a new study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The researchers found that of the babies who died while sleeping in seating devices, nearly two-thirds were in car seats. However, only a small percentage of these deaths occurred while babies were in the car. The analysis looked at 11,779 sleep-related infant deaths over a decade using data from the National Center for Mortality Review and Prevention.
Dr. Jeffrey Colvin, lead author of the study, told Today that the death appears to have occurred when car seats were used “in place of a crib,” rather than as intended to transport children. He also noted: “Many times we just saw this context, when the baby was left in the car seat for hours, and the guard slept or was intoxicated all this time.”
While the AAP does not provide clear reasons why letting babies sleep in car seats outside of moving vehicles might be dangerous, Dr. Harvey Karp explains that the danger comes from leaning over. “When your baby is sitting, his heavy head can fall forward, causing difficulty breathing … and even choking,” he says. A 17-month-old girl named Mia died of positional asphyxia after taking a nap in a car seat in kindergarten.
(It is imperative to remind you that car seats are the safest place for babies to travel and have saved many, many lives. )
The AAP states that to sleep and at night, babies must sleep on their backs on a hard sleeping surface that meets the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) . Last month, Fisher-Price recalled the hugely popular Rock ‘n Play baby sleeper amid pressure from AAP. A Consumer Reports investigation found that 32 babies have died while using the sleeping device since 2011.
Let’s be honest. When my daughter was a baby, my husband and I were delighted when she fell asleep in the car, and we could transport her in a sweet dream to restaurants, friends’ houses or Costco. We relied heavily on the infant car seat for its portability. Now that we have another child and we are aware of the dangers, shedding this convenience will not be easy. But this time, we’re not using a child car seat – we have a convertible instead – partly because we don’t want to be tempted to take it off the car. The risk is small, but it is there.
Colvin told Today that parents “absolutely shouldn’t” worry if their child falls asleep on the road. Just remember that car seats are designed for cars. As soon as you leave, say a short prayer and move the sleeping baby – well, very carefully – into the crib or bassinet.