When it comes to helping your baby sleep more effectively and safely, there are various techniques that parents are able to use and also several products on the market. One of these is the baby sleep positioner, which is aimed at keeping your baby lying in a specific position.
There are also some products such as shaped cushions which are also similar to the baby sleep positioner, and these help your child to keep their head in a particular position. There are several advantages and disadvantages to using these products however, and all of these must be carefully considered of before you go on to decide what is best for your child.
The first thing to know is that currently, many experts warn against the use of baby sleep positioners for the reason that they can be dangerous for the safety of the baby – at least when used without taking precautions first.
These products are designed to stop a baby rolling over onto its stomach, which can results in SIDS. As it is ideal for a baby to sleep on its back, these positioners essentially keep baby in the right place whilst sleeping and therefore reduce this risk of SIDS.
With that said, having these items on the bed can increase the risk of accidents that result in suffocation. Therefore, many experts say that nothing else should be placed in a baby’s cot, such as any type of pillow or cushion, or even soft toys, as these can increase the chances of SIDS occurring.
However, many parents still use these products as they find them essential in order to encourage their baby to sleep on his or her back. Indeed, this may be a very valuable tool to use, as long as baby is supervised and they are not at a risk over rolling over and harming themselves.
Indeed, some parents do use these types of sleeping aids if the child is under their supervision, as it can reduce risk and the parent can intervene should the baby be putting itself in danger. This types of positioners can actually also provide baby with a comfortable sleeping position, which can ensure a deeper and more restful sleep.
In these instances, parents may want to have a baby sleep positioner on hand for when they want baby to get a particularly restful sleep under their watchful eye. Another advantage of this type of positioner is that it can help prevent flat head syndrome.
This syndrome is something that affects babies who sleep on their backs or who sleep with their head to just one side. As a baby’s head is still soft and the skull has not completely formed yet, lying on a flat mattress can cause the skull to become flattened in appearance.
This often reverses itself naturally, as long as parents take certain measures to encourage this reversal. One way that they can do this is using a baby sleep positioner from time to time under their supervision to relieve a little bit of pressure from certain areas of the head.
Rather than leaving baby unattended at night with a positioner, it can be used strategically to help the head take a natural shape while sleeping, essentially a break from when a baby lies on his or her back all the time.
A popular alternative to this is the baby head cushion, which is curved inwards so as to help the baby’s head take a regular, rounded shape. This again can be used under parents’ supervision and is not as bulky as an entire positioner which is placed under the baby’s body. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to using these products, they certainly do have their uses.
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