positional asphyxiation

kgcnyc

There are some mentions of this on other boards, but thought I would see if you all had more info. 

I just saw a FB story of an 11 week old baby dying because he was swaddled and put in his car seat, unbuckled, to sleep. Cause of death: positional asphyxiation. 

I definitely understand how that can happen, but I'm wondering what the difference is in this and a baby falling asleep in the car or in the stroller (for those who are going to use a stroller where the car seat clips in). Is it the buckling? It seems like that wouldn't make much of a difference as the baby is still in the same position whether buckled or not. 

Can anyone explain?

nanamp

I think it's because the car seat sits at a specific angle when it is hooked up correctly. The angle may not be right when it is just sitting on the floor...

Knottie11415116

Good question? Now I'm very concerned about this....

Bump!

rah938

It can happen whether buckled or not. They recommend not leaving the baby unattended in a car seat, stroller or baby swing while asleep.

maureenmce

From what I understand, you're never supposed to let baby sleep unattended on anything other than a flat surface (crib or bassinet) when they're young enough to be at risk for SIDS.  I know a lot of parents let their kids sleep in car seats rather than wake them to transfer them to another surface, but I think you have to keep an eye on them if you do that because any time they're on a non flat surface they can have airway/breathing issues.

Here's an article about the dangers:

https://www.parents.com/blogs/parents-news-now/2015/04/24/parenting-news/why-you-shouldnt-let-your-baby-sleep-in-a-car-seat-swing-or-bouncer/

leap_frog

Interesting. I've never heard of this before. That's all sorts of terrifying.

jeanbug12

If the baby was not buckled, he probably slid down in the seat a little and got in a position where either his head was flexed forward too much or his swaddle was up around his face, compromising his airway.

EC2016

I'm friends with a car seat safety page of fb. This came up a couple of weeks ago. Buckling the baby does make a difference bc of the position it keeps the baby in and prevents the baby from sliding down. Also when the seat is in the car it is at a different angle than if you set it on the floor. Also swaddling prevents movement and infants have no head control so that's always a no no in the car seat.
Hope that helps.

bella2210

I was so glad to see this thread. I'm a FTM and read the same article today. I almost took my glider swing off of my registry. I mean he's going to fall asleep in that and the car seat occasionally. I'm glad someone explained on here specifically why that situation was so dangerous because I was starting to really worry about having him in a car seat or that glider swing.

deedeecmc79

Yes, I just read this story today and wondered the same thing. I wonder if being swaddled and I'll also had something to do with it. However, they are saying this happened bc the baby was not strapped in and the car seat being out of the car was not positioned the same way one in the car would be!