Might be a dumb question but...

Bonjuju · January 2013

With regards to SIDS how do bumpers restrict air flow but bassinets do not? I don't see much of a difference in terms of airflow.

duffmaker · January 2013

Some bassinets, not all but some, have mesh on the left and right sides. But in majority of them, having that mesh is completely stupid because the decorative ruffles/fabric on the sides cover it anyway...

pinkmickey24 · January 2013

My thought would be that by the time baby can roll they wouldn't be in a bassinet anymore and that risk wouldn't be there. I think that is the issue with bumpers because babies roll over into them. This is only my assumption because I have not researched it myself.

ETA-I could be totally off base and wrong, so take it for what its worth.

Bonjuju · January 2013

pinkmickey24:
My thought would be that by the time baby can roll they wouldn't be in a bassinet anymore and that risk wouldn't be there. I think that is the issue with bumpers because babies roll over into them. This is only my assumption because I have not researched it myself.
ETA-I could be totally off base and wrong, so take it for what its worth.

I understand the suffocation issue as baby gets older and can wiggle to the sides but all the SIDS sites advise against bumpers from the start. They also clarify that SIDS and suffocation are different.

jlaOK · January 2013

There is no correlation between the use of bumpers and SIDS. The cause of SIDS is unknown. Bumpers have, however, been attributed in many deaths of infants because of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment. Anything that could cause one of those things such as blankets, stuffed animals, etc. should be avoided.

caffrin · January 2013

I've wondered the exact same thing!

caffrin · January 2013

jlaOK:
There is no correlation between the use of bumpers and SIDS.nbsp; The cause of SIDS is unknown.nbsp; Bumpers have, however, been attributed in many deaths of infants because of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment.nbsp; Anything that could cause one of those things such as blankets, stuffed animals, etc. should be avoided.

This is untrue. Experts claim bumpers could contribute to SIDS due to decreased airflow. I don't necessarily agree BUT that is what the experts say.

hjk5000 · January 2013

jlaOK:
There is no correlation between the use of bumpers and SIDS. The cause of SIDS is unknown. Bumpers have, however, been attributed in many deaths of infants because of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment. Anything that could cause one of those things such as blankets, stuffed animals, etc. should be avoided.

Yes

hjk5000 · January 2013

caffrin:
jlaOK:
There is no correlation between the use of bumpers and SIDS.nbsp; The cause of SIDS is unknown.nbsp; Bumpers have, however, been attributed in many deaths of infants because of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment.nbsp; Anything that could cause one of those things such as blankets, stuffed animals, etc. should be avoided.
This is untrue. Experts claim bumpers could contribute to SIDS due to decreased airflow. I don't necessarily agree BUT that is what the experts say.

But since the cause is unknown, they can't say anything directly causes it. There is a huge list of things that contribute to it (bumpers included obviously), pretty much all having to do with air flow. KWIM?

duffmaker · January 2013

Bonjuju:
pinkmickey24:
My thought would be that by the time baby can roll they wouldn't be in a bassinet anymore and that risk wouldn't be there. I think that is the issue with bumpers because babies roll over into them. This is only my assumption because I have not researched it myself.
ETA-I could be totally off base and wrong, so take it for what its worth.
I understand the suffocation issue as baby gets older and can wiggle to the sides but all the SIDS sites advise against bumpers from the start. They also clarify that SIDS and suffocation are different.

Yes SIDS and suffucation are completely different, many people mix that up.

duffmaker · January 2013

hjk5000:
caffrin:
jlaOK:
There is no correlation between the use of bumpers and SIDS.nbsp; The cause of SIDS is unknown.nbsp; Bumpers have, however, been attributed in many deaths of infants because of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment.nbsp; Anything that could cause one of those things such as blankets, stuffed animals, etc. should be avoided.
This is untrue. Experts claim bumpers could contribute to SIDS due to decreased airflow. I don't necessarily agree BUT that is what the experts say.
But since the cause is unknown, they can't say anything directly causes it. There is a huge list of things that contribute to it (bumpers included obviously), pretty much all having to do with air flow. KWIM?

SIDS is slowly becoming more and more understood though and there is a correlation between bumpers and SIDS and that is a build up of CO2 that results from a lack of air flow in what is essentially a 5 sided padded box when you use traditional bumpers. Yes all of those things, including bumpers can cause infant death but that death is not SIDS.

All in all, and it's scary but from the research I've done SIDS is presumed to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, similar to sleep apnea (although it's extremely difficult to do accurate sleep studies on infants). ALL babies are born with a low amount of a specific chemical in their brains and more produces with age. (That's why SIDS risk reduces with age) Some are born with less than average or just don't produce it at the rates they should be and that is what causes them to stop breathing. Certain factors such as breathing monitors, taking measures to reduce that CO2 buildup, keeping baby in the same room as you, can decrease the chance of SIDS but it's also said that, and as morbid as this is, a baby who is ultimately going to die of SIDS will. In majority of cases you can make a baby breath again and again if you catch them in time but eventually it just won't matter because they are not producing adequate amounts of that specific chemical in their brains, in the ones where they are just producing the chemical slower than average, that one time you catch your baby in time to resuscitate them may be just enough to buy them that extra time for their brains to produce that chemical.

I mean this is all speculation, and educated guesses basically, but it's as far as they have gotten in the SIDS research because it isn't an easy thing to figure out.

The problem with bumpers has very little to do with SIDS. There is the CO2 thing which is an easy thing to counter if you do what we did and keep one side off or have a ceiling fan or something to keep good air flow. The problem with bumpers is suffocation, that to some parents is a big risk, to others, like me, it isn't. I just watched M (who didn't move at all) and will watch this baby, check on them often and if s/he turns out to be a roller really young then I will remove them.

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