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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Positional Asphyxia - I Never Knew
Logged out 04:22 PM 11-03-2011
I am a somewhat new member to this forum. I have been working with young children for a little over ten years (five of them as a family child care provider) and have three of my own children. I have a Bachelor's degree in early childhood education and have completed 100's of hours of state mandated training over the years, included courses specifically about SIDS and infant safety. Never once in all of my years did I ever hear the phrase "positional asphyxia." I have always known to put infants on their backs to sleep and to keep blankets, pillows, etc. out of the cribs. BUT if a parent brought a sleeping baby in the car seat in the morning, I never knew that letting the child finish his/her nap in the car seat was dangerous. Also, every baby I have ever taken care of has fallen asleep in the swing at some point. My regulations say, "Sleeping arrangements for infants require that the infant be placed on his or her back to sleep, unless medical information is presented to the provider by the parent that shows that arrangement is inappropriate for that child." When I placed infants down for their naps it was always face-up in a crib with no blankets, but all along they were in danger because I allowed them to sleep in their carriers and in the swing. It just goes to show that even if you have all kinds of specialized training and experience, you don't know everything. I thank heavens that none of the precious babies I have been entrusted to care for have been hurt by my ignorance. I now know and will be able to share this information with parents as well.
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nannyde 04:26 PM 11-03-2011
Nice post

When you know better you do better.

Now you know.
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Cat Herder 04:42 PM 11-03-2011
Thank you for this post.
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laundrymom 04:55 PM 11-03-2011
Thank you.
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Heidi 05:09 PM 11-03-2011
I also never knew this until I learned it here.

It was also not mentioned in my recent SIDS training, taken from 2 different sources (once on my own, then again for my EC program classes).

I remember rolling my eyes when I heard that we have to get a sleeping baby out of the car seat, and wake them, then lay them in a crib. Yeah right, I thought!

I have never even owned a swing, I am not a fan of contraptions. I have a friend who's daughter spent most of her first year in one going back and forth back and forth, all freakin day. It drove me bananas every time I saw it.

Now that I am aware of this danger, should I ever have a young infant in my care, I will definately NOT allow him to sleep in a carseat.
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Unregistered 09:40 PM 11-03-2011
I'd like to know if this is just a recent thing. I was looking over an old infant carrier from my 11yr old and I really don't see how a baby could have an issue in it. Do they make the seats more upright now? When I put a baby in it without the base, the baby is pretty much in a recliner stretched out type of position. I'm just curious. Both of my kids slept in it occasionally and I've had countless daycare babies use it here and there if there's a sleep issue and they all look comfortable, with no head drooping or anything like that. What is it about the seats that causes the problem? Thanks in advance for sharing whatever you may know. Please don't get all riled up over this. I just want to know facts, please.
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daycare 05:19 PM 11-04-2011
Originally Posted by bbo:
I also never knew this until I learned it here.

It was also not mentioned in my recent SIDS training, taken from 2 different sources (once on my own, then again for my EC program classes).

I remember rolling my eyes when I heard that we have to get a sleeping baby out of the car seat, and wake them, then lay them in a crib. Yeah right, I thought!

I have never even owned a swing, I am not a fan of contraptions. I have a friend who's daughter spent most of her first year in one going back and forth back and forth, all freakin day. It drove me bananas every time I saw it.

Now that I am aware of this danger, should I ever have a young infant in my care, I will definately NOT allow him to sleep in a carseat.
Ditto, I also learned it here
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harperluu 07:25 AM 11-04-2011
Another good reason to rouse an infant from their car seat is to verify the infant is in good condition when they arrive. If a baby has been mistreated or shaken at home, they may already be displaying the effects of their injuries.

I get babies out of their car seats and wake them in front of their parents and before they leave. I let them know I'll be doing this during the initial interview.
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2ndFamilyDC 06:00 AM 11-10-2011
Originally Posted by harperluu:
Another good reason to rouse an infant from their car seat is to verify the infant is in good condition when they arrive. If a baby has been mistreated or shaken at home, they may already be displaying the effects of their injuries.

I get babies out of their car seats and wake them in front of their parents and before they leave. I let them know I'll be doing this during the initial interview.
Great idea, I will be practising this from now on.
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Cat Herder 06:17 AM 02-27-2013
Bumping back up to help answer a question from another thread (this morning) relating to infant positional asphyxiation.

It is a lot of information to repost with such limited time this morning, please forgive the slight sidestep of etiquette.
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Scout 07:34 AM 02-27-2013
Originally Posted by Logged out:
I am a somewhat new member to this forum. I have been working with young children for a little over ten years (five of them as a family child care provider) and have three of my own children. I have a Bachelor's degree in early childhood education and have completed 100's of hours of state mandated training over the years, included courses specifically about SIDS and infant safety. Never once in all of my years did I ever hear the phrase "positional asphyxia." I have always known to put infants on their backs to sleep and to keep blankets, pillows, etc. out of the cribs. BUT if a parent brought a sleeping baby in the car seat in the morning, I never knew that letting the child finish his/her nap in the car seat was dangerous. Also, every baby I have ever taken care of has fallen asleep in the swing at some point. My regulations say, "Sleeping arrangements for infants require that the infant be placed on his or her back to sleep, unless medical information is presented to the provider by the parent that shows that arrangement is inappropriate for that child." When I placed infants down for their naps it was always face-up in a crib with no blankets, but all along they were in danger because I allowed them to sleep in their carriers and in the swing. It just goes to show that even if you have all kinds of specialized training and experience, you don't know everything. I thank heavens that none of the precious babies I have been entrusted to care for have been hurt by my ignorance. I now know and will be able to share this information with parents as well.
It isn't your ignorance, this is just not talked about enough. I think they should make sure parents read info like this prior to leaving the hospital with an infant! I never knew this either and I used to put my son in his swing for naps all the time when he was little or worse yet, I would put him in it while I went back to bed if I had to get up for work shortly! At least when he was napping I was awake! Thank God nothing happened to any of us who have done this!
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Tags:crying - ferber method, infant - safety, positional asphyxia, sids, suid
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