News "Car Seats Lower Oxygen Levels in Newborns"

Here's the link to the story:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=6980714

The way they advertised the story before it aired made me mad - "How putting your infant in a car seat could be dangerous". Argh... And one thing you won't see on the printed story is that Dr. Mangoni also said that in all his years as a Dr. he's never had a parent with a problem with a car seat -

They didn't say anything positive about car seats - how they save lives and how important it is to have your newborn in one - (NOT on your lap). All they did was scare parents who will use this as a lame excuse not to use a car seat or to take their child out of one when they should be in one.

:thumbsdown:

Isn't that old news? The whole reason we have the 45 degree rule is to allow infants to have clear airways.

My local TV station did a bit on this tonight. Yeah, let's give those parents another reason not to want to use car seats.... Of course, my husband's nephew's little boy slept in his car seat b/c his mom was too lazy to stick to putting him in the crib when he'd cry, so maybe this would stop some parents from using the car seat as a crib?

Raegansmom4 said:

My local TV station did a bit on this tonight. Yeah, let's give those parents another reason not to want to use car seats.... Of course, my husband's nephew's little boy slept in his car seat b/c his mom was too lazy to stick to putting him in the crib when he'd cry, so maybe this would stop some parents from using the car seat as a crib?

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Ya - it's nothing that isn't obvious!! That's one of the reasons why some car seats have levels right on them that turn "green" or whatever other color when you've got the seat at the right angle! They reported it TODAY because the "study" just came out - but obviously it's nothing profoundly unexpected - duh?
They should've focused on "when NOT in the car the child should be out of the seat" (because then it's probably not in the "green" level). And instead of just focusing on proper installation they made it sound as if all children are "at risk" if they are in car seats.

I remember reading about the lowered oxygen levels years ago. Why is this news now?

Maedze said:

I remember reading about the lowered oxygen levels years ago. Why is this news now?

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Here's the video link:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=6980712

The article says, "The study, published in the Journal Pediatrics, found at a certain angle, car seats could cause compression in the chest, and result in lower oxygen intake."

Apparently there is a "new" study that was published - I assume recently but they did not say when.

I think the way CNN reported the story about the new Pediatrics article was much better than the ABC News version.

Here's the abstract of the article that I assume these news reports are referring to, which was apparently just published online yesterday.

bree said:

I think the way CNN reported the story about the new Pediatrics article was much better than the ABC News version.

Here's the abstract of the article that I assume these news reports are referring to, which was apparently just published online yesterday.

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Yes - a MUCH better article! Thank you CNN! :thumbsup:

CelticLabyrinth said:

Isn't that old news? The whole reason we have the 45 degree rule is to allow infants to have clear airways.

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Yes, this is why nicu babies have to have a car seat test to monitor their oxygen while strapped into the car seat before they are released from the hospital.

I have two infant seats. When placed on even ground both are at least 45 degrees, maybe a tad more. Is it a problem if dd is in them like that? I had thought as long as the line was parallel to the ground or the indicator in the green, then it was fine.

(Lately, though she's either in the cradle or on the floor.)

For some reason the links aren't working for me... I think they're blocked.:thumbsdown:

I caught this on our local news last night... what REALLY got me was that they did not mention the angle of the seat AT ALL! But the introductory segment implied that it was because the harness straps were too tight and would prevent babies lungs from fully expanding!!!!! Yeah, like 90% of harness straps aren't already too loose! Ugh!

And I totally agree about the angle being different when the seats not in the car. I honestly think they should have linked and publisized(sp?) this more associated with SIDS than carseats! :twocents:

What I found interesting was the car bed also caused O2 stats to drop, suggesting that it is more than just angle causing the O2 to drop.

http://children.webmd.com/news/20090824/infant-car-seats-may-lower-oxygen-levels

But the babies were tested at the 30 min mark in cribs and at the 1 hr mark in the carseats.... in theory that is possibly comparing apples to oranges in and of itself. Do babies have periods in their sleep cycle where they are more "deprived" of o2? And, all of the the numbers they gave are well within the safe zone. NICUs don't really worry about ox saturations until like 92-89% sat iirc.

ETA: yet another version of the study. this one does seem to be more confusing/damning and not as apples to oranges

christineka said:

I have two infant seats. When placed on even ground both are at least 45 degrees, maybe a tad more. Is it a problem if dd is in them like that? I had thought as long as the line was parallel to the ground or the indicator in the green, then it was fine.

(Lately, though she's either in the cradle or on the floor.)

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No need to worry, use the seat as the angle indicators indicate. I think this is just serving as a wakeup call to parents not to keep their kids in them at all times, and maybe for manufacturers to explore new designs in the future. The real danger for a newborn is when they are too upright and their head flops forward and they strangle.

I'd love to see something like the Red Castle Sport Infant Car Seat be approved in the US.

I think it is important that physicians be aware of this information. Both of my kids often slept overnight in their carseats because our physician at the time recommended it as a way of keeping them elevated. They were both fussy babies, who often had nasal congestion, and our physician told us that they would sleep better with the head elevated in the carseat. I shudder to think of what could have happened, but we were just following medical advice. I'd like to think that I wouldn't get the same advice now, but it takes so long for those findings to filter down to the primary care physicians.

momto2boysinOnt said:

I think it is important that physicians be aware of this information. Both of my kids often slept overnight in their carseats because our physician at the time recommended it as a way of keeping them elevated. They were both fussy babies, who often had nasal congestion, and our physician told us that they would sleep better with the head elevated in the carseat. I shudder to think of what could have happened, but we were just following medical advice. I'd like to think that I wouldn't get the same advice now, but it takes so long for those findings to filter down to the primary care physicians.

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Really we've heard about this before. Some physicians just don't pay much attention, sadly; there have been multiple published articles and studies on the danger of too much time in the car seat (and swing, and bouncer.)

ketchupqueen said:

Really we've heard about this before. Some physicians just don't pay much attention, sadly; there have been multiple published articles and studies on the danger of too much time in the car seat (and swing, and bouncer.)

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That's my point exactly. It takes so many studies before physicians take them seriously. As you say - there's so much for them to pay attention to, and what actually sinks in is so spotty. All the more reason why it is important that the full picture be presented in the media.

I always wondered how much truth there is to this study. I'm not one to just stick babies in a seat and leave them there, but I've been doing it with DD lately (of course, she's no longer an infant and has special circumstances) and she breathes BETTER in a car seat. That why all these special needs kids have positioning seats that recline them for feeding and stuff (and yeah they are older and bigger, but in many cases, their respiratory system is more fragile than a typical newborn's). It's better for their airway and breathing. Yeah it's bad if they flop forward and cut off their airway, but that's kind of the point of the 45 degree angle, to prevent that. I know some preemies and other kids with SN can't handle that angle, but most kids are fine at that angle. I know DD's sats drop after she goes into a deep sleep...after about 1/2 an hour or so, but that happens no matter how we position her.

I don't think parents of healthy babies need to worry about taking a 45 minute car ride, personally. SIDS can happen anywhere at any time and at any age (yes, even past infancy, it's just called something else). We're driving ourselves mad with all these studies. Every single position babies sleep in is associated with some kind of tragic death. Can we just step back and use a little common sense? Babies with severe GERD are probably better off NOT on their back, but at an angle or on their belly. Healthy babies are probably best on their back. Preemies and other kids with medical problems may do best with a side positioner or rolls. Kids like my DD are best off at a 45 degree angle. It's just common sense to me. Don't freak if your kid sleeps best in the car seat...maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe they are refluxing and the angle is preventing aspiration.



"In the new study, 200 healthy newborns spent 30 minutes in a hospital crib, 60 minutes in a car bed, and 60 minutes in a car seat. The infants had lower oxygen levels when in the car seats and car beds than when they were sleeping in hospital cribs.

Specifically, the infants had an average oxygen saturation level of 95.7 percent in a car seat, compared with 96.3 percent in a car bed, and 97.9 percent in a hospital crib."

I don't get why they didn't do 60 minutes in a crib. And someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but 95% (almost 96% actually) O2 sats are NOT considered risky right? Maybe my perspective is a little skewed because I would jump for joy if my kid could keep them that high, but if I walked into the ER with DD satting at 95, they would send us right back home. It's not a dangerous level. I don't think the ER would put oxygen on until 92-94 at least and that would be on a case-by-case basis, like if the patient were clearly struggling to breathe.

I think it's a good idea to not use the car seat as a baby-sitter, but that's for the child's emotional well-being. It's not good to plop your kid in one and keep them there 75% of their waking hours. And I don't think using it as a crib is a good idea unless you have a reason to. But this study just makes people think their kid is going to suffer brain damage from a 30 minute car ride. Believe me, it takes a hell of a lot more oxygen deprivation that that to cause a problem.

NicoleCPST said:

I caught this on our local news last night... what REALLY got me was that they did not mention the angle of the seat AT ALL! But the introductory segment implied that it was because the harness straps were too tight and would prevent babies lungs from fully expanding!!!!! Yeah, like 90% of harness straps aren't already too loose! Ugh!

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I just posted about this! A lady came up to me today and told me that because I still had my 2 year old in a harnessed seat he was going to have breathing problems for life! She said it was big news about carseats and i need to look it up. It has to be the same story and if people are coming away with THAT I posted trying to figure out what she was talking about! She really thought all kids should be out of harnessed seats ASAP and was telling EVERY parent she saw.