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Originally Posted by SunkenShip
Nyoririn, I think I like you!
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Thank you.
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Now there's a mandatory policy that you can't let your babies sleep on their stomaches because of SIDS. However, my mother told me that when I was born they suggested babies sleep on their tummies. Well, when my son was born last year, he came out like me: He loved sleeping on his stomach!
He woke up in fits if you put him to sleep on his back. You think I'm going to fight what is natural for my son because of silly rule that the AAP came up with "just in case"? Hell no.
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I`m not so quick to discount the sleeping on the backs thing. It is the one major factor that has been shown in pretty much every study to reduce the rate of SIDS.
Supposedly, it`s quite a lot easier for a baby to breathe when positioned on their stomach - When my son was in the hospital, they usually tried to put the babies on their stomachs if they were having trouble breathing. It`s also supposedly better for development (more incentive to raise head earlier, movement has more effect).
But on the other hand, it`s also easier for carbon dioxide to build up around the baby`s face. That can trigger and lengthen apnea.
It`s easier to say put the baby on it`s back than explain how to keep proper air flow, expect everyone to suddenly replace soft beds coverings, etc. These days most sleeping surfaces designed for babies are firm and don`t allow much build up, so I doubt it is nearly as important as it was in the past.
But it stays around as a policy because it is easy to do and there are no big disadvantages. Babies who sleep on their backs may be a bit later to hold their heads up, but it isn`t a delay that sticks around.