Sleep positioners, should I feel bad for having used one?

[Danceswithwarthogs]

Heard on news today about baby sleep positioners being withdrawn from sale over safety concerns... Now feeling bad as it was the only thing that helped dd2 (now 3) to settle when she was tiny, also neither dd would go off in flat carrycot pram thing but would sleep in carseat attached to travel system (which is also now a no-no). It almost seemed like they needed to be held in a slightly fetal position to go to sleep (and not wake up again within a few minutes). I never found swaddling terribly helpful.

I even have a brand new babymoov that I was intending to try in the pram to see if it made it less jiggly and more conducive to sleep.... Should I just chuck it straight in the bin?

Aibu to ask how other people have got babies to go to sleep and stay asleep flat on their backs? (Ideally without dummy/cosleeping which I did end up trapped doing with dd2 who woke at least 2hourly and got colic too) It would be lovely to be blessed with a good sleeper, but feel anxious that if we have the same again, its difficult to follow all the SIDS advice and actually get baby to sleep at all.

Please check but I think sleepyheads are safe, they are the only ones tested to be breathable on the market

I was reading this and wondered about if it applied to the sleepyheads ones or not, it was talking about straps and wedges but I’m not sure

I Bought a sleepyhead a couple of days ago and am now wondering the same thing. My midwife actually recommended it for safe co sleeping so I assumed it would be ok.

I wonder if the risks of the sleep positioners are actually higher than the risk of baby rolling onto front and suffocating? Seems like everything is a hazard these days.

I think the sleepyheads are still okay to use, but the babymoov has been recalled. I got some wedge shaped pillows on Amazon, a small one to put under the cover on the carry cot base and a bigger one to put under cot mattress. My youngest had awful silent reflux and sleeping at an angle was the only thing that helped.

The Lullaby Trust doesn't say Sleepyheads are safe, I think anything in the cot that isn't a plain blanket or sheet is included in that.

Sleepyheads are tested as breathable but only if they're used with the official covers which are expensive and a pain to change. So anyone covering them with sheets, muslins etc can no longer assume them to be breathable.

So here's the full details... The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has re-issued advice concerning sleep positioners; advice which originated following 12 deaths in the US between 1997 and 2010, whereby infants were placed on their side to sleep using a sleep positioning device unconnected to those highlighted in the articles. Babymoov’s Cosydream has been amongst those highlighted. The company has released the following statement on their website:

We would like to assure customers that our award winning, paediatrician-approved Cosydream has never been involved in any incident connected with infant fatality. Nor does the Cosydream resemble the products that first gave rise to the FDA guidelines seven years ago.

Please note that our Cosydream has never been sold in the United States and thus can't be involved in the incidents reported in these articles.

Over 100,000 Cosydream units have been sold to satisfied customers worldwide since the product was first launched four years ago, during this time it has been met by wide acclaim.

The design of the Cosydream enables babies to sleep safely on their back in accordance with recommendations by the NHS. Using the Cosydream after feeds and during naps can help provide babies relief from symptoms of colic and reflux, it can also help prevent the onset of Plagiocephaly. The product is specifically designed for use from birth and, as per our guidelines, should not be used when baby is able to turn independently.

All our products comply with current regulations and the appropriate certification ha been attained in relation to each of our baby sleep products.

Hope this helps!

Thanks LSK,

That's really positive!! I probably should have looked that up first rather than worrying about it.

Maybe I'll just use it for the first few weeks to help baby adjust to life on the outside before there's any chance of rolling

Hey no worries Danceswithwarthogs, it's so easy to get nervous where little one's safety is involved but I think you'll be just fine. Hope it goes well

I think the lullaby trust has said only sleeping flat in a cot with nothing in it has been proven safe, the only way that products like a sleepyhead can be judged 'safe' is basically that there haven't been any sids cases yet where one was used - in which case I presume i would immediately be taken off the market like the bednest was. SIDS is very rare and doesn't have a known cause, only linking factors, one of which is not sleeping in a cot with nothing in it except a mattress and a sheet. Parents should be aware that there's no way for infant sleep products to be officially safe due to the unknown nature of sids. Obviously if your baby doesn't want to sleep flat on its back you need to consider the risks - sleepyhead probably better idea than falling asleep with baby in your arms for example.