Strollers: should newborns really sit in infant car seats?

[Anonymous]

I seem to be getting conflicting information about this... for city living (where you would use a stroller regularly and for longer periods of time), shouldn't newborns lie flat in their stroller until they can hold their neck up? It seems that infant car seats aren't good for their backs when they are that little.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

huh?
We took our infant on a 10 hour car trip to Chicago. Sure, we took her to nurse, diaper change, and to stretch, but most of the time she was snug in her car seat. I certainly wouldn't leave an infant in a car seat 24/7 (is that what you mean by "long periods of time"), but the daily errands and so forth won't harm you babe.

I don't even think buggies (where the babies lie down all the time) are frequently sold anymore.

And curious...what makes you say that car seats aren't good for infants' backs?

[Anonymous]

I've never met a newborn that liked laying flat on their back.

[Anonymous]

I do admit to sitting in the back seat when possible when my babies were young and holding their heads up! But I don't think it is a problem for daily use. Their necks are pretty much in that position in utero. In fact the car seat can keep them pretty snug and almost bundled which is what they like. The only thing I have ever read is that prolonged use of car seats...meaning all day, many days......can decrease development (slightly) becasue of the lack of mobility allowed. This article highlighted the prolonged use though - i.e. baby taken to day care in car seat - falls asleep in car and they don't want to wake them up - wake up and they eat in car seat and fall asleep again...and the repeat on the way home.

[Anonymous]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6216892.stm

The article above might add to the discussion.

My understanding is that newborns backs are not fully developed and therefore, they should not be in car seats for too long as it can affect the development of their backs. Apparently, the recommendation is that the baby should only be in the seat for a couple of hours max. Car seats should be kept for the car. I intend to use ours with the travel system for short trips like grocery shopoping.

I see so many people using car seats as strollers, I believe that it is a new health scare waiting to happen.

[Anonymous]

http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/child_health/car-seats.html

The Rise of Flat-head Syndrome
Medical professionals have begun to notice an alarming rise in the incidence of a skull deformity in infants called “flat- head syndrome.” Plagiocephaly, the medical term for this flattening of the skull, can occur as a result of consistent pressure on a particular spot. It is a cosmetic condition, but one that can be permanent if left untreated.

The increase in plagiocephaly is frequently blamed on the fact that babies are now placed on their backs to sleep, a position that has been shown to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). If a baby’s head is always in the sameposition, the pressure can deform the skull. However, back sleeping is not the only factor. Extended periods of time spent in a baby seat can also contribute to this condition, as can long periods in strollers, swings, and other devices that put babies in a back-lying position.

Timothy R. Littlefield, MS, is affiliated with an Arizona clinic that treats plagiocephaly. In an article in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, he notes that 28.6 percent of infants who attended the clinic between 1998 and 2000 spent 1.5 to 4 hours daily in car seats or swings, and nearly 15 percent were in them for more than four hours per day. Another 5.7 percent of infants were allowed to sleep in these devices.1 Littlefield observes that cranial distortion resulting from overuse of car seats and swings is more severe and complex than in children who develop plagiocephaly from back-lying on a mattress. Consequently, he recommends reducing the time spent in car seats and swings, if possible.2
Concern over plagiocephaly also led the American Academy of Pediatrics to suggest in 2003 that infants “should spend minimal time in car seats (when not a passenger in a vehicle) or other seating that maintains supine positioning.”3 When infants must be in a back-lying position, moving their heads occasionally can help reduce pressure and avoid developing a flat spot. The simplest and most effective prevention, however, is to decrease the cumulative time infants spend on their backs.

[Anonymous]

I don't even think buggies (where the babies lie down all the time) are frequently sold anymore.

Actually several higher-end strollers come with (or have available) bassinet attachments specifically for that purpose (Bugaboo, Quinny, Orbit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/child_health/car-seats.html

The Rise of Flat-head Syndrome
Medical professionals have begun to notice an alarming rise in the incidence of a skull deformity in infants called “flat- head syndrome.” Plagiocephaly, the medical term for this flattening of the skull, can occur as a result of consistent pressure on a particular spot. It is a cosmetic condition, but one that can be permanent if left untreated.

The increase in plagiocephaly is frequently blamed on the fact that babies are now placed on their backs to sleep, a position that has been shown to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). If a baby’s head is always in the sameposition, the pressure can deform the skull. However, back sleeping is not the only factor. Extended periods of time spent in a baby seat can also contribute to this condition, as can long periods in strollers, swings, and other devices that put babies in a back-lying position.

Timothy R. Littlefield, MS, is affiliated with an Arizona clinic that treats plagiocephaly. In an article in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, he notes that 28.6 percent of infants who attended the clinic between 1998 and 2000 spent 1.5 to 4 hours daily in car seats or swings, and nearly 15 percent were in them for more than four hours per day. Another 5.7 percent of infants were allowed to sleep in these devices.1 Littlefield observes that cranial distortion resulting from overuse of car seats and swings is more severe and complex than in children who develop plagiocephaly from back-lying on a mattress. Consequently, he recommends reducing the time spent in car seats and swings, if possible.2
Concern over plagiocephaly also led the American Academy of Pediatrics to suggest in 2003 that infants “should spend minimal time in car seats (when not a passenger in a vehicle) or other seating that maintains supine positioning.”3 When infants must be in a back-lying position, moving their heads occasionally can help reduce pressure and avoid developing a flat spot. The simplest and most effective prevention, however, is to decrease the cumulative time infants spend on their backs.

Re: Backs

Poor Positioning For Infants
Plagiocephaly is not the only problem associated with heavy use of car seats. According to Dr. Jeanne Ohm, executive coordinator of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (www.icpa4kids.com), many infants in strollers or car seats constantly tilt their heads to one side or the other. “That’s a good indication that their upper cervical spine is out of alignment,” says Ohm. Short periods spent in a car seat are fine, but “keeping them in that position where it’s easiest for their head just to fall off to the side—that leads to further spinal stress later on in life.” Ohm prefers to see parents carry infants in their arms and use different types of carriers. “Offering a variety of carriers supports correct postural development for the child.”

[Anonymous]

What is funny about some of these posts is that they act as if keeping infants in car seats is something new. It's not. I think a rule of reason is in order. Should you leave your baby in a seat, swing, bouncer all day long? No. Is it ok to use the items? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I wouldn't dream of putting DD in the stroller without the car seat - in fact, the car seat makes it possible for the neck and back to be supported while being transported not to mention keeping the baby secure.


And no, we can't afford a high-end buggie (especially since they're huge space-hoggers and will only be used for a few months until DD wants to sit up and look around)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is funny about some of these posts is that they act as if keeping infants in car seats is something new. It's not. I think a rule of reason is in order. Should you leave your baby in a seat, swing, bouncer all day long? No. Is it ok to use the items? Yes.

Of course car seats are nothing new, and I doubt any mother keeps her baby in a seat, swing, bouncer all day long. What is new is the emergence of travel systems and the fact that people are replacing the traditional pram/stoller with car seats. Car seats should be used for what they are intended for...the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is funny about some of these posts is that they act as if keeping infants in car seats is something new. It's not. I think a rule of reason is in order. Should you leave your baby in a seat, swing, bouncer all day long? No. Is it ok to use the items? Yes.

Of course car seats are nothing new, and I doubt any mother keeps her baby in a seat, swing, bouncer all day long. What is new is the emergence of travel systems and the fact that people are replacing the traditional pram/stoller with car seats. Car seats should be used for what they are intended for...the car.

I agree, they should be used as car seats and that's it. Also, people are increasingly using car seats as baby carriers. Before, they were only used for the car, now you see them everywhere.

[Anonymous]

I also read something about babies breathing through their tummies, so being in the curved seated positions of car seats when they under six months is not a good idea.

http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/products/carsafety/lie_flat.asp

[Anonymous]

I guess it depends on what you classify as "new". I remember my now 15 year old neice being lugged around in her carseat/carrier. Before they had they had the carseat carriers, they still had infant carriers -- most parents just moved the baby to the carrier when getting out of the car. In fact, I've seen more traditional prams in the last year or two than I've seen in the last 20 or 30 years.

[Anonymous]

With our travel system, we put the baby in the stroller without the carseat and when she was very young, the stroller reclined to nearly (but not quite) flat. She got a ride in the stroller without being in the carseat and was comfortable (this was obviously before she could hold her head up).