Bumper or no bumper?

cloudninemom2be

I registered for a mesh one for when baby gets older. In all honesty, I find the decorative ones to be hideous.

KatieGummow

Sisimama10 said:

And if @katiegummow says no, then the answer is NO!

Teehee, sisi, you make me blush!

mrsB68

So the thought is brain defect not suffocation. But suffocation from sheet pockets may contribute, so buy ties? Not trying to be a bitch I'm just agreeing it's not really know what's actually the cause, what exacerbates, etc. Nothing at this point seems definitive.

I think simply aiming to choose only recommended products may be the safest way to keep your LO safe. It's the best we can do with what we know. And staying away from items not recommended or that have controversial findings.

And thanks for the tip on sheet ties, I'm going to look to adding those to the registry in the morning!

SimplyRSVP

@mrsB68 It's not that the sheet pockets will contribute or cause sids. It's more that when they're young enough to grab the sheets but not mobile enough to move, the babies can suffocate themselves. By the time they can travel to the bumpers, they're also aware enough and strong enough to lift their head away from the bumpers to breathe. Overall, I think the bumper and sheet recommendations are directed at different ages. Those suggestions were from a few different sources. I was just trying to provide a couple of different opinions from industry professionals (which I definitely am not). :-) I'm a to each their own kind of girl.

MamaFantastic

i did read the articles and studies posted about SIDS and the defect in the brain stem (or something like that) which causes babies to not rouse via a natural protective waking mechanism when the oxygen level isn't sufficient for safe breathing.

it seems the connection is this (again, based on my understanding of what i read):  there are some babies who have a legitimate brain defect or predisposition that makes them less likely to rouse when in "dangerous" breathing situations like being semi-suffocated or rolling into something.  these babies can die from preventable (i.e. not leaving loose blankets covering them, not falling asleep together cuddled under layers of bed covers, not letting baby sleep on the couch next to you, etc) and non-preventable (can't think of a good example at this point) situations, and sometimes it's still just tragic with no known "cause" persay.

so there's still an argument that keeping babies away from potentially dangerous situations may affect their chances of dying from SIDS-related situations...  though now we seem to understand there's more at play (the brain predisposition) than just whether or not baby was suffocated by some oxygen-restricting layer.

KarenEliza

amhah09 said:

SimplyRSVP said:

amhah09 said:

SimplyRSVP said:

From my pediatrician and hub's

Regarding bumpers and SIDS - The most recent long-term studies out of Boston lead physicians to believe that suffocation is not a cause of SIDS. They are now saying that SIDS is caused by a brain defect.

(I am not claiming to have read the studies. I am simply passing along the information given to me by the trusted professionals in my life.)

*** Our pathologist friend actually mentioned that it was more important to make sure the crib sheet is as tight and secure as possible. He recommended getting the clips that hold the sheet tight beneath the mattress. The reason for this precaution is because the younger babies like to grasp onto the sheet and end up making their own "pockets" of fabric and can suffocated themselves with their sheet.

Suffocation does not equal SIDS, that is correct. But I *believe* (and I could very well be wrong here) that the issue with bumpers is more than just a suffocation risk because, yeah, mobile babies should be able to move away from them, but they decrease air flow which is what increases SIDS risk.

I understood it that way as well, but I think that Boston study goes against that mindset because of them saying it is a brain defect from birth and no longer "caused by" suffocation or restricted airflow. Now, is it exacerbated by it, I haven't a clue. Like I said, I didn't read the study, yet - I was just passing along the info.

Oh, I can understand that. Technically since SIDS has an unknown cause of death and is more recently theoreticised as a brain defect (I haven't read that specific article either but I have seen several) then there would be no way to either prevent or exacerbate it. I'm not really SIDS paranoid for this reason.

Friends I've known whose babies died of SIDS had done everything "right" (including one who passed during a nap in the middle of the day in which he was laid on his back in his crib with no blankets or bumpers and whatever else) and SIDS still struck.

The difference is between cause and risk factors. Even if the cause of SIDS is a brain defect, sleeping with poor ventilation is a risk factor. Think of it this way, if a child died from nicotine poisoning it is a build up of nicotine in the blood that killed them but having a parent who smoked is the risk factor.