To suggest that newborns needing to lie flat in prams ect is a load of old tripe?

[fannybaws]

Every time I hear this referred to I want to jump up and down a bit, the notion that babies need to lie flat "for their spine/back "
Is it simply a bit of old marketing from a pram manufacturer that has become lodged in the national psyche???

:) maybe I'm just really clumsy then!

I fully understand that some families have the money to buy every bit of baby kit available.
I suppose I started thinking about this as I have had 5 dc and never had a totally flat pushchair/pram top.
It seems that the manufacturers understandably try to tempt shoppers to buy as much as possible by having lots of different products.
Many times on what pushchair should I buy threads parents are told they have to have a buggy that lies completely flat to use from birth, which tend to be more money than a buggy that reclines.
I live in a city with lots of flats and know that using a flat pram type arrangement for many would be costly and difficult.
I am not in any way disputing the present cot death prevention advice.

Buying a pram is hardly buying every bit of kit going.

I wouldn't have the money to have five children tbh. We all make different choices.

I have one much like that Bruffin (though not padded) and it is perfectly safe used properly.

It always seems more natural to allow a baby to lie flat, after all they can't hold themselves up so unless you prop them surely flat is the most natural way to transport them?

Of course manufacturers try to tempt people to buy as much as possible- erm, thats the nature of marketing!

It just seems a bit OTT to assume that we're all gullible consumers who don't have a choice in these things. I bought a proper lie flat pram because it was very comfortable and weather proof for the baby (I am a get outdoors and walk every day type person) and because I wanted something where I could wander for several hours around park/shops/ library etc without carrying cumbersome bags. If id lived in a top floor flat I might have felt differently. Ditto if I was someone who drove everywhere.

I think most people operate on the basis that manufacturers will market their products as if you cannot survive without them- so you exercise a bit of common sense when purchasing.

Agree bruffin the sling you saw sounds as though it wasn't being used properly.

A pram would probably be dangerous if the top part wasn't clicked into the chassis properly, the straps were loose or not being used and the baby was hanging out over the side. It's just common sense really to read the instructions and use baby equipment as it is intended. Sadly some people don't have much, as you've seen!

This is pretty comprehensive on sling positioning for anyone reading and worrying that they may not be using theirs correctly.

Just wanted to add that not only do the angles of carseats/or any equipment in a carseat-type position restrict the lungs,but due to babies having soft maleable bones prolonged use can cause manipulation of the upper spine due to the weight of the head.
It is fine for short bursts but generally no more than an hour.

Oh yes the old coach built prams were hugely impractical for public transport. But no doubt wonderful for long walks around town and for the baby to sleep in outside, as was common many years ago . Mine wasn't like that- but was a very compact and strong silver cross pram so simple to manoeuvre in stores etc . Also dc 2 was summer born so much of my maternity leave was spent in the garden with baby asleep in the pram, so it was far more practical than a sling for that! I could return from a walk, park the pram in the garden and the baby slept undisturbed

I bought my pushchair second hand off eBay. Lie flat, converts to pushchair, takes car seat, folds small, parent or forward facing etc, will do us till dd doesn't need one any more. It doesn't have to be expensive to follow the recommendations, this is just an example of sneering at the younger generations because the recommendations have changed.

And they lie flat in the womb?

Oo, she wrote all controversially...

I think the main problem is their neck, which can't support their head, but if that's taken care of in a sling/chair, surely it's all OK? Was in Peru over the summer and the babies snuggled in shawls round their Mum (including one intrepid soul who had two) looked incredibly comfy.

that's why I love this

Lies flat is quite basic and lightweight.

Cat I bought aM&P pram with the carrycot and a seat the could face forwards and backwards and lie flat to raise up, very much like this one
The dcs slept in the carry cot until they were 8 months and 10 months when they went into a proper cot. I walked everywhere and used the trains a lot, so had a double side to side buggy for long journeys for about a year. I also had two graco buggies for when I didn't need the double. Also used a sling for a short while when they were newborn, but really didn't like it.

I sold the M&P at a NCT sale for over £100, the two gracos basically were worn out (one replaced the other) and the double buggy I sold for £40 through the newspaper.
My prams and buggies must have walked hundreds of miles over the 5 years I was using them and were brilliant shopping baskets. They were worth every penny I spent on them

Bruffin I have that M&P pram but on a different chassis, got it 2nd hand but it is a great pram. Yes it is bulky when folded but it does the job from birth upto about 4.5. You don't even need the carrycot as the seat lies back perfectly flat. Buy a £10 M&P mattress and you have a carrycot which folds brilliantly

i think OP is bitter at having to live in a high rise flat and not being able to have a nice large pram so is just slagging them off. Her whole 'manufacturing' angle is tosh ans look at how many travel systems or buggies are in the Argos compared to proper lie-flat prams

no they don't lie flat in the womb. but then they don't breathe either, so that is kind of irrelevant.