News "Car Seats Lower Oxygen Levels in Newborns"

[jheimes]

My kids were born in 05 and 08. I was told by 2 different doctors to put them in the car seat because they were having trouble breathing/congested at night. My son also has reflux and now that he is older we have pillows propped under one end of his crib to keep him more upright. I didn't feel comfortable keeping them in the seats so much. My poor son had to sleep in his car seat at daycare also because of the reflux problem, so I asked that he only be in it while sleeping and not when he was awake. We had to do a lot of holding to keep him upright at home so that he wasn't in the seat all the time.

 

[rachel]

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.

I had a ped tell me this too.