Ensuring Baby’s Quality of Sleep: Understanding Baby Blankets and Comforters

Whether you’re a first-time mother, taking care of your second or third child, you may find yourself asking from time to time whether your baby is getting enough sleep for the day. Or whether he or she experiences comfort in her sleep.

It’s understandable to be worried about your baby’s quality of sleep. In a 2017 study, researchers have supported previous findings that infant’s sleep contributes to their physical and cognitive growth.

However, babies do not follow the typical sleep pattern that we usually do.

Newborn babies sleep for a total of 16 to 20 hours a day. Or around eight hours during the day and another eight to nine hours at night. This set-up will change during the succeeding months following childbirth, as the infant’s total duration of their sleep may decrease.  

Ensuring a good quality of sleep for your baby can be a challenge. But there are baby comforters and baby blankets that could aid infants in their deep slumber. However, using these items can pose a risk for infants if not used properly.

Baby Blankets and Baby Comforter: What You Need To Know

Baby blankets and baby comforter blankets are soft beddings that  provide babies and toddlers a sense of security and calmness. This is especially true whenever they don’t sleep close to their parents.

Risks of Baby Comforter Blankets

Using a baby comforter and baby blankets can pose a risk to newborn babies, according to the Updated Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2016.

The following are potential risks for using such items on infants:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

It refers to an abrupt death of a baby that usually occurs during the infant’s first six (6) months after birth. While the cause of SIDS is not known, experts agree that this happens due to common concerns associated with the use of baby blankets, comforters, and other soft pillows and toys in the crib.

Suffocation and Entrapment

Suffocation involves obstruction and blocking of airways for infants. Entrapment is characterized by being “trapped” in a certain position.

As they cannot be able to adjust to their blankets, they can easily position themselves under the covers. And they may not be able to remove themselves from under the blankets. This may lead to potential suffocation if not addressed immediately.

This can also be possible when babies’ airways are blocked by big-sized mattresses, pillows, blankets, and other soft materials.

Strangulation

This happens when people cannot receive oxygen due to traumatic injuries brought by pressure applied to the neck. In this case, your baby’s face or neck may get tangled in soft objects that may lead to strangulation especially if they are left unattended.

Toxic Chemicals

Some beddings are made with toxic chemicals that can lead to irritation, headache, and other severe complications such as asthma and cancer.

How to Ensure Baby’s Safety

As experts recommend, parents should keep off soft clothing, including baby comforters and blankets, from the infant’s sleeping area. These can be a potential risk for suffocation, entrapment, strangulation, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.

Instead, it’s best to set up the infant’s sleeping location with only a “firm sleep surface”. This includes a fitted sheet and no other objects under and at the sides of the crib.

Aside from this, experts also recommend to use infant sleep clothing instead of baby blankets. This may include pajamas, sleep sacks, and swaddles that are made from soft fabrics such as cotton.

Once the baby becomes a toddler, they can then sleep with a baby blanket. However, parents should first ensure their child is strong enough to have such soft beddings on her crib.

Remember that the above-mentioned risks can apply to toddlers, too.

Learn more baby care tips here.