Health : Health Buzz: New Safety Rules for Baby Cribs |
| Health Buzz: New Safety Rules for Baby Cribs Posted: 28 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT Tougher Standards for Baby Cribs Take Effect News flash: Safety rules that took effect Tuesday now make it illegal to sell or donate that old baby crib—like the once-popular drop-side crib and other older models—even at yard or garage sales. Indeed, the new standards are so strict that government officials recommend destroying the crib you're currently using (or holding on to) and buying a new one. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission now bans the manufacture and sale of drop-side cribs, which were designed for easier placement and lifting of babies. Several dozen children have died after slipping through broken adjustable side rails, either hanging to death or suffocating. The new rules also require mattress supports to be stronger, crib hardware to be more durable, and the safety testing of cribs to be more rigorous. "After 30 years of having outdated standards, CPSC delivered on its promise and created the toughest crib safety standards in the world," Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the CPSC, told the Associated Press. "Parents can now shop for a crib with confidence." What's Wrong With This Picture? Baby Is in Danger Danger hides in these cozy scenes: an infant sleeping on its tummy on a plush sheepskin rug; twin newborns snoozing side by side in a crib; a crib decked with so many blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals that there's nearly no room for a baby. If you've thumbed through some popular parenting and women's magazines lately, chances are you've seen images depicting these or similar scenes, U.S. News reported in 2009. And while they may make for good photographs, they set bad examples for parents, experts say. Those situations, they say, are not safe for sleeping babies. "There are a lot of mixed messages that are being sent to families," says Rachel Moon, a pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center in Washington who has probed several widely read parenting and women's magazines and found that many photos in articles and advertisements clash with what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents do to keep infants safe while asleep. More than a third of the photos of sleeping babies showed the infants in perilous positions, and two thirds of those depicting cribs and other sleep environments showed situations that the organization deems dangerous, Moon and other researchers reported in Pediatrics. "That's a problem," says Moon. "Studies have shown that where the baby sleeps and how the baby sleeps are very important in terms of SIDS risk reduction." SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, remains the chief killer of infants under age 1. Experts use the SIDS label to describe the abrupt, unexpected death of a seemingly healthy baby, usually during sleep, that neither autopsy nor death-scene examination can explain. [Read more: What's Wrong With This Picture? Baby Is in Danger.]
Pregnant or Thinking About It? 10 Prenatal Tips From conception to delivery, a fetus is at the mercy of its environment. A mother-to-be has more control over her internal chemistry than she might think, and her odds of having a healthy baby will be much improved if she follows these tips, U.S. News reports. 1. Take steps even before you're pregnant. If there's a chance you'll conceive, take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to guard against preventable birth defects such as spina bifida. Also ask your doctor about getting vaccinations against chickenpox and rubella before you try to get pregnant. These and a few other "live" vaccines cannot be given to pregnant women, but if contracted during pregnancy the illnesses can cause birth defects. 2. Don't delay an OB visit. Early blood tests can catch anemia and infections that can affect the fetus if not dealt with quickly. Plus, congenital problems such as fetal heart abnormalities often can be detected and addressed during pregnancy. 3. Write down all meds. Your doctor should review your drugs, vitamins, and supplements. Some of them, such as certain antidepression and seizure medications, can harm your baby's heart and increase your risk of miscarriage. 4. Don't drink. Binge drinking is particularly dangerous to the fetus; known risks include miscarriage, stillbirth, and mental retardation. It may cause facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. [Read more: Pregnant or Thinking About It? 10 Prenatal Tips.] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Health Buzz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment