Babies sleep all the time, and all the time, we worry. Here are five ways to protect them in their slumber:

1. Use your baby’s car seat for car travel—not as a portable crib. It’s easy to grab it and go, toting your baby through the shopping mall, letting her sleep in it in your living room. But she may not be getting enough oxygen. 

A study published today in the September 2009 issue of Pediatrics found that 20 percent of newborns suffered from a decrease in oxygen levels in their blood when they slept in car seats. Their floppy heads reduced the size of the airway, and their car-seat buckles pressed against their little chests, says lead study author T. Bernard Kinane, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard University. The result: a sleep apnea-like effect. 

Rest assured—the oxygen deprivation was in the mild range. “[But] if you have a choice, you want the higher range,” says Dr. Kinane. “Use car seats to travel, but don’t use them 14 hours a day, carrying them around the grocery store.” Plus, a car seat that sits on the floor can tip over.

What about car seats that snap into strollers? While this wasn’t specifically tested, Benjamin Hoffman, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, notes that "the angle is likely to be close to the 45 degrees [in car seats] so there is a theoretic risk of the same outcome. I would caution about leaving a child in the stroller all day long.”

To learn more, check out check the American Academy of Pediatrics’ car seat safety guide, and connect to moms on our  Car Seat message board .

2. Never give your child over-the-counter meds as sleep aids. Cough medicines and antihistamines (such as Benadryl) don’t help children sleep. They may even make them agitated and hyperactive, says Dr. Ian Paul, associate professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. But the biggest concern for infants is a risk of sudden infant death, he says. Nor will painkillers help your baby sleep unless he’s in pain. Always ask your pediatrician before giving any medication to a baby under six months old.

3. Be careful with blankets and pillows. Infants younger than six months may not be able to roll over if a pillow or blanket covers their mouths and noses and obstructs the airway, says Dr. Hoffman. If you want to slightly elevate the head of a baby with a stuffy nose (to help drain mucus), place a pillow under the mattress. The National Sleep Foundation has good information on preventing SIDS.

4. Remember that couches are for sitting, not sleeping. Babies can roll off couches and get stuck between cushions. As a result, they can suffer injuries or even suffocation, says Dr. Hoffman.

5. For sleep, place babies alone, in a well-ventilated room, on their backs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents avoid “co-sleeping.” When a baby is sleeping with a parent, he can roll over and get caught between the bed and the wall. Or he can get tangled up in pillows and blankets. Keep it breezy, too: Last year a study in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine indicated that infants who slept in rooms ventilated by fans had a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS than babies who slept in bedrooms without them.

Related links

•  Prevent SIDS
•  Quiz: Are You Car Seat Savvy?
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