Improper Use of Car Seats Health Concern
Experts in the field of Pediatrics introduced a new case study this week entailing that extended periods of time in a car seat can have adverse effects on infants. Low oxygen levels can cause respiratory issues in young children, the study reports.
According to research, car seats are a must for safety reasons in automobiles, but the “safety” of such seats should not be used outside their purpose. Many cases of extended use of car seats involved using the safety devices as replacements for cribs or strollers.
The researchers studied 200 healthy newborns, 2 days old, and discovered that after being placed in a safety seat in a vehicle for an hour, the infants had less oxygen after testing in comparison to a similar group of infants placed in cribs for the same amount of time.
“The use of these devices should, therefore, be restricted to protection from injury and death in traffic accidents, and they should never serve as a replacement for a crib,” reported Lilijana Kornhauser Cerar, MD, of University Medical Centre in Ljubjana, Slovenia, and other researchers who shared credit in the study’s report.
Many parents substitute car seats for a resting place for their baby when a crib is not available, states Dr. Iley Browning, an associate professor of pediatrics at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.
“That’s not a good choice,” offers Dr. Browning, “And dropping oxygen levels are going to get worse when children have colds so you’re making your child worse by putting them in a car seat when they’re sick. And I guarantee that parents do this more when their child is sick.”
Car seats maintain safety standard by holding children to a vertical slope, which would provide them the best scenario in the event of an accident.
According to researchers, this same vertical angle can constrict an infant’s chest and inhibit breathing.
The case study was sponsored by Aprica, a Japanese company that creates and sells children’s items, including strollers and baby seats.
