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Strollers: should newborns really sit in infant car seats?
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Anonymous
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I never bought an infant seat with DS and won't have one with this baby. I put DS in a carrier in the beginning and about 6 weeks I put him in my stroller, which had a reclining seat.... (Maclaren Techno XT).
As long as they're supported, strapped in and happy...why worry!! |
Anonymous
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My carseat has a newborn insert to provide extra support to the head, neck, and body.
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Anonymous
Do you personally know any babies who have suffered adverse effects from being placed in car seats? |
Anonymous
I think that question would be best placed with someone who has contact with a lot of infants i.e. a pediatrician |
Anonymous
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Just because the look happy strapped into a car seat doesn't mean it's good for their back/spine/head etc., does it?
It seems to be that most the information out there focuses more on the convenience of using a car seat, rather than explaining what is better for the baby's health. |
Anonymous
I purposely asked the question of those who are questioning the increased use of car seats whether they had an ancedotal evidence to back up their concerns. |
Anonymous
There is no point in shooting the messenger. Check out the quotes from the association of pediatricians and other articles for the answer you are looking for. |
Anonymous
| OP, if you have a concern about possible effects of a carseat/stroller while running errands in the city, there is always the option of a sling/ergo/baby bjorn/maya wrap, etc. I did both w/ my son, but always felt he was more secure and comfy when attached to me. |
Anonymous
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Three points to add to this thread.
1. Peditricians tell parents to keep infants in carseats or swings when the infants have reflux. I doubt they would tell parents this if it were a danger to the baby. 2. The babies are in your belly for 9 months, much of that time they are squished up in a ball, not laying flat, and the spine is curved. This is where the baby lives for months, with no room to move, all curved and sqooshed. 3. Many ethnic baby wraps actually keep the baby in a very curved position. They are in no way straight or "flat" against the mom. They are basically wrapped up with a piece of fabric. Many slings also keep the baby in a curved position with head kinda floppy. Babies have something like 300 bones where adults have 240. They are maliable. Obviously they are not meant to be mooshed and squooshed and kept in one constant position 24/7 but they are not going to break if they are not laying flat. |
Anonymous
| PP re point point 2 - sure they're squished in the belly, but obviously they are coming out of there b/c it's a little crowded. Not sure that the fetal stage is comparable to a babies development once they are born. |
Anonymous
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I just want to add that I'm not sure all the media coverage about this is helpful. Yes, I agree that babies should not spend all day in a carseat or swing. However, I also don't think that parents should use these studies as justification to go out and buy $500 or $1000 baby carriages.
Just a few things I've learned from being a mom: 1) Before kids, I envisioned visiting the mall with my friends while the baby slept peacefully in his stroller. Reality -- not! In 5 years I've barely spent anytime in the mall with my children. All shopping trips are with the purpose of buying specific items and then getting home fast! While babies sleep, they don't sleep for long periods of time -- they need to eat, they need to be changed and they want to be held. I have found baby carriers very helpful. 2) We are hit with all these rules -- don't let you baby sleep on his tummy, don't let your baby spend too much time in the swing or carseat, babies need to sleep x hours a day, don't this, don't that, etc. Sometimes these rules are in direct conflict with reality. One of my kids had reflux. For his first 2 plus months, the only way he would sleep for longer than twenty minutes at a stretch was if he were in my or DH's arms -- while were we sitting in a chair (i.e., not lying in bed). Let me tell you as an adult, it is very difficult to get a good night's sleep like this. By accident, I discovered that my son would sleep on his tummy. I put him down for tummy time once and within 1 or 2 minutes he was sound asleep and slept for 2 hours! However, based on all the SIDS literature, I was afraid to let him sleep like this at night (I would let him nap like this since I could watch him like a hawk). We then discovered that he could sleep for long stretches of time in his carseat. We put a rolled up blanket under the front of the carseat so that he was at more of an incline. This was a lifesaver. Baby, DH, and I all got to sleep at night. Our pediatrician admitted that they had to go this route with their DD. No, sleeping in a carseat is not ideal for most babies, but I do believe there are exceptions and that you need to take things on a case by case basis. Our son graduated to the crib at 7 months and from that point forward, he has always slept on his tummy. The only real impact we noticed from the carseat is that he had a bald spot on the back of his head that quickly went away once he moved to his crib. BTW -- we tried sleep positioners, inclining the crib, etc and none of those worked for us. If I had known about it at the time, I might have tried the Amby Hammock. 3) Sometimes your child will get sick and it is best for them to be in an upright or highly inclined position. Carseats can work well if baby has a cold since it helps things drain and helps keep baby's nose from getting all stuffy. If your child ever has croup, the doctors now highly recommend that you keep them at an incline -- since congestion pooling in the throat is partly to blame for the inflamation in the throat. As I said before, sleep positioners and inclining the bed may work for some babies, but not for all (raising the bed or mattress does work well for older children though). I'm not dissing the results of these studies. I'm just saying you cannot always make lifestyle choices based solely on these results -- you need to look at the big picture. |
Anonymous
My point was not that they are "fetal". It was that infants do not have fused bones and that they are comfortable in closed quarters (swaddling, holding them snug). Most babies perfer to be in a tight space than all spread out. Why? Because they were in cramped quarters in the womb. Just because the womb gets crowded and they pop out does not mean they do not prefer the same enviornment. Just saying... Many books will tell you the same thing, so will many doctors. But each baby is different. |
Anonymous
Yes, but once they are out of womb, they are out. They are supposed to grow with a straight back after that! |