SIDS Prevention: Consider Crib Mattress Toxicity

Website design By BotEap.comIs there a link between toxic crib mattresses and SIDS?

Website design By BotEap.comAs a parent, you want to do everything you can to prevent SIDS. Typical SIDS prevention advice is to put your baby to sleep on his or her back on a firm mattress, avoid thick, fluffy fillers, pillows, or stuffed animals, and keep your baby from overheating. This is good advice; however, there is an additional factor in SIDS prevention that you may not be aware of. An ongoing SIDS prevention campaign in New Zealand is publicizing a link between SIDS and mattresses. This campaign advises parents to wrap their baby’s crib mattresses in a gas-tight cover to prevent babies from being exposed to toxic gases from mattresses.

Website design By BotEap.comThe theory linking SIDS and mattresses suggests that deadly toxic gases generated by crib mattresses can poison sleeping babies. Toxic fumes are created from the interaction of fire-retardant chemicals with a fungus that commonly grows on mattresses and bedding. The gases are breathed in and absorbed by a baby, shutting down the central nervous system and stopping breathing and heart function. Toxic gases are denser (heavier) than air, so the gases released by mattresses float directly onto the mattresses and diffuse to the floor. This explains why sleeping on your back protects against SIDS. Babies who sleep on their backs are less likely to breathe in a lethal dose of toxic fumes. But the gases can still be absorbed through the skin.

Website design By BotEap.comHow has the mattress wrapping campaign affected SIDS prevention in New Zealand? To date it has been 100% successful. It began in 1995 and during this time no deaths from SIDS have been reported among the more than 196,000 New Zealand babies who have slept on a mattress wrapped in a polyethylene cover. The number of SIDS deaths in New Zealand that occurred between 1995 and 2010 is approximately 920. However, there were no deaths in New Zealand from a properly wrapped mattress.

Website design By BotEap.comAlthough the findings have not been scientifically proven, they have not been refuted either. There definitely needs to be more research. But the current evidence, as well as the common sense around this issue, is too strong to deny. The fact that this information is not being widely disseminated is puzzling, but it may have to do with politics, stakeholder interests, and liability.

Website design By BotEap.comI have been following this campaign for over 10 years and am dismayed that more research is not being done on SIDS prevention and mattresses. This is due to a flawed report published in the UK in 1998 which claims that there is not enough evidence to support this theory. Most SIDS organizations have closed the book on this. There’s not likely to be any more research anytime soon, so parents need to decide for themselves whether or not to take action.

Website design By BotEap.comRegardless of the validity of the relationship between toxic gas and SIDS, the following is true about cribs and crib mattresses. Typical crib mattresses contain polyurethane foam, made from petroleum, vinyl-coated, and loaded with toxic fire retardants, chemical plasticizers, and biocides. Chemical plasticizers and flame retardants can leach out of vinyl mattress covers and into the air babies breathe while they sleep. Cribs can release formaldehyde and other VOCs. Young babies should not breathe these toxins which are known to cause neurological, respiratory, reproductive, or immune problems.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you’re concerned about toxic fumes in crib mattresses and SIDS prevention, or just about your baby being exposed to toxins, the best thing to do is buy a firm, organic crib mattress that doesn’t contain toxic materials. Why not proceed with caution and common sense and ensure that your baby’s sleep environment is free of harmful chemicals during the most vulnerable period of brain and immune system development? There is too much at stake to wait for all the research to be done. Safe and non-toxic organic mattresses are readily available.