The nation’s largest association of pediatricians is warning that a product designed to help babies sleep soundly could be deadly.
Manufacturers of weighted diapers and sleeping bags liken them to a parent’s hand resting gently on a baby’s chest or the feeling of “being held and held.” But the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that placing weight on sleeping infants poses an alarming and potentially fatal risk, and the group calls for further examination of the potential danger.
Sleeping bags and heavy diapers could hypothetically increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by making it harder for babies to awaken in response to hazards, such as a lack of oxygen, the AAP said in a letter Thursday to the Commission on Safety. of Consumer Products and ASTM International, a technical standards development organization.
“Why would anyone put a weight on the chest of a child, particularly a newborn?” said Dr. Michael Goodstein, a neonatologist and member of the AAP task force on SIDS. Babies’ ribcages are more elastic and flexible, so adding weight could also potentially compress their breasts and affect their breathing, he noted.
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