It is more dangerous if you sleep on a sofa or armchair with a narrow space around you.
More than a quarter of breastfeeding mothers fall asleep while feeding, increasing the risk of infant asphyxiation, a new study has found. This is what the health and medicine webzine ‘Health Day’ reported on the 8th (local time) based on a paper by researchers at the University of Virginia published in the November issue of Pediatrics.
“It is not surprising that young babies fall asleep while breastfeeding, but most mothers do not plan to sleep, so they are left with a potentially unsafe sleep space for their babies,” said Fern Hauck, a family medicine professor at the University of Virginia and lead author of the paper. “The fact that breastfeeding occurs is a risk factor,” he explained. This is because falling asleep on a cramped sofa or armchair without soft cushions can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) if your baby sleeps with you.
The data obtained by the researchers came from a survey of 1,250 mothers of newborns at 16 U.S. hospitals in 2015 and 2016. When the mothers completed the survey, their babies were between 2 and 3 months old.
More than 28% of women reported falling asleep “sometimes” or “usually” while breastfeeding in the two weeks before the survey. Many of the women who fell asleep said they breastfed while sitting on a sofa or chair instead of a bed to reduce the chance of falling asleep. However, there were many times when it was not effective.
Current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) do not recommend that adults and infants share a bed to prevent fragile infants from rolling on the bed or babies getting caught in the bedding. In this study, the most common place to fall asleep while breastfeeding was the bed (approximately 34%), followed by the sofa or chair (approximately 17%). The AAP guidelines emphasize that it is better to avoid sofas and chairs rather than beds because they are more dangerous places for the baby to fall asleep while breastfeeding.
The real question is how to help mothers avoid falling asleep while breastfeeding, said Ann Kellams, a pediatrician at the University of Virginia Hospital and a member of the research team. “Our data shows that too many of these falling asleep incidents are unplanned,” he said. “It is important that feedings are carried out under a safe sleep and feeding plan.”
The researchers also emphasized the importance of educating breastfeeding mothers about the potential risks. Professor Hauck said, “Parents need to be educated on the dangers of falling asleep while breastfeeding and make the space around the baby safe,” adding, “Pillows and blankets should be removed to ensure the baby’s airway is open.” Co-author Rachel Moon, a pediatrician at the University of Virginia Hospital, advised, “If you can fall asleep, it is safer to breastfeed in bed than on a sofa or armchair.”
Source: kormedi.com
