When a mom brings home her new baby, the first thing everyone tends to ask her is, "How are you sleeping?". It’s a fact that babies don’t sleep for very long periods at a time, and some want to be up all hours of the night. Moms and dads try many things for getting their babies to sleep well in their own bassinet or crib. Swaddling, having the bassinet close by the parents’ bed, and playing womb music are among the desperate measures parents take to get some blessed sleep. In many cases, the one thing that usually would help the most is to let the baby sleep on her stomach, but according to SIDS research this should never be done.

Its true that babies who were sleeping on their backs have still passed away from SIDS, but looking at the numbers, researches saw that a significantly higher number of babies who were sleeping on their bellies died from SIDS. Just using this one major finding, experts recommended that babies always be laid down to sleep on their backs. And it worked. SIDS numbers were reduced, and parents started to breathe a little easier. What the research didn’t reveal was why it was more likely for a baby to pass away from SIDS when lying on their bellies rather than on their backs. This article will discuss why a baby placed on her stomach would have more of a risk of SIDS than a baby placed on her back. This is for discussion only and should not be used as a reference for letting a baby sleep on her stomach. SIDS is still a mystery in many ways and there are several contributing factors. No one thing can be pinpointed to every SIDS occurrence. That said, some parents still do decide to let their babies sleep on their stomachs, and there is some very important information they should know if they make that choice.

So why is it more likely that a baby placed on her stomach would have a higher risk for SIDS than a baby placed on her back? Its simple. It’s the mattress. You may have heard a lot about organic crib mattresses lately, as they are becoming increasingly popular. The reason for that is the research done on the relation to SIDS and a baby’s mattress. Until the popularity of the organic alternative emerged, parents didn’t have a clue that anything about their baby’s mattress could be harmful. Now we know that a traditional mattress must be flame retardant according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. To achieve this goal, manufacturers filled the mattress stuffing with chemicals to make it fire resistant. Not only that, because it is well known that babies spit up and have diaper leaks, the mattress was covered with vinyl material to make it easy to clean. This combination makes for a deadly mattress. The chemicals used are not safe for the baby, they are toxic. The vinyl is not safe for the baby, it reduces air flow. SIDS happens because the baby stops breathing or their airway is blocked. So think about it. Safety measure? I think not. With this knowledge it makes sense why a baby placed on her belly would have more of a risk of SIDS than a baby placed on her back. With her nose and mouth pressed down on the mattress, she will be directly breathing in more chemical toxins, and risk a reduction in air flow from the vinyl.

Again, I do not recommend that a baby be placed on her stomach to sleep. There is still too much that is unknown about SIDS and why it occurs. There are other SIDS factors like smoking around the baby, having loose items in the crib, and even the sex of the baby as more males tend to suffer from SIDS than females. Young babies don’t have great head strength and could press their noses in the mattress and not be able to lift their heads back up. Many things can attribute to sudden death. In the instance that a parent does make this decision on their own to get some sleep (because babies tend to sleep better on their stomachs) they definitely should make certain they are using an organic crib mattress that is one hundred percent organic. With the craze now for a natural alternative some major chains are offering versions with synthetic blends and still slapping the "organic" label on. Beware of these mattresses as they aren’t any better than the fully chemical filled versions and they cost more.

Know that using an organic mattress cannot guarantee that your baby will not suffer from SIDS. It can, however be a wonderful peace of mind that you are doing everything you can to prevent it. So get one for your bassinet, portable crib, and standard size crib for sure. Let the baby sleep on her back. Don’t smoke around the baby or allow anyone else to. Once the baby can kick out of a swaddle, stop swaddling or get a larger swaddle blanket that they cannot kick out of. Do not put loose blankets, toys, or anything else in the crib with the baby. Make sure all sheets have elastic all the way around to fit tightly. Enjoy your baby, and know that sleep is coming soon.