New Mattress? please can someone give me a link or some help!

[Kew08]

My friend has given me her old moses basket. She never used it - her kids have used it put their toys in. Looks brand new but do I need a new matress? I know I need a new one for a cot but can't find any advice on Moses baskets. Can afford a mattress but just don't want to be wasteful plus new mother anxiety has me worried that if I don't buy a new one I'm putting baby at risk. Please help me see sense.

I always bought a new mattress for moses backet for each of my children. They are inexpensive and i think its a recommendation.

It used to be thought that there was a link between re-using mattresses and cot death but this has now been discounted. New mattresses are recommended I think because the previous baby can leave an indentation that the new baby will mould into and it may not suit the new baby (does that make sense?) But if they have just put toys in it I would think it was OK to use myself. If you do want to change it I found John Lewis were good just take the old one along and they should be able to find an equivalent size.

Had a look at the mattress and no identation. My father in law who's a recently retired GP says that cot death is primarily linked to bacteria and hereditary/genetic issues. He says it's more about how anxious I'm going to get about it. Think I'll just reuse it. I have cot as well with a new matress so if i freak out, I'm covered. Thanks!

If they've been storing toys in it it's probably dusty - you could sponge it down and hang in the sun (fat chance!) for a few hours or so - but as they are so cheap I'd be inclined to get a new one.
I won't be getting a new one for my #2 but that has only been used in the family and then vacuum stored. I will air it a bit. Same with mattresses.

I work in this field training health professionals in the guidelines to reduce cot death. Our current guidelines do suggest a new mattress for each child. However, we recognise that this may not always be possible therefore any waterproof / wipeable mattress does not need to be replaced so long as there are no tears in it.

Cot death is not caused primarily by bacteria or Hereditary / genetic issues. There are some deaths which can be attributed to these but they are in the minority but the biggest risks by far are babies sleeping on their fronts, smoking and parents falling asleep on the sofa with their babies.

The matteress is waterproof/wipeable and had three covers. One plastic (which machine washable), one cotton cover and then the sheet - all of which I plan to wash. Guess I'll reuse it but if I'm still anxious I'll buy a new or put the baby in the the cot. Thanks Dannyb - do I need to wash them in a special solution? I bought fairy non-bio to pre-wash all the gifts that I got that were clothes or bedding.