Although parents and caregivers have a lot on their hands, keeping your infant safe and healthy should be the most important one. Whether you are about to become a first-time parent, are expanding your family, or are a grandmother/father, this is the perfect moment to start taking precautions and keeping your baby safe. Baby Safety Month is observed in September and is sponsored yearly by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). This year, JPMA is promoting safety ambassadors by assisting in educating parents and caregivers on the proper choice and usage of juvenile goods. This is to ensure that you provide your child with a secure environment for your child to develop, learn, and play. 

Common Baby Safety Issues

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that falls, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, and car accidents are the leading causes of injuries among children. This article describes some common baby safety issues and how to prevent them. 

1. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) refers to the death of an infant under a year old who appears healthy and suddenly dies while sleeping. SIDS is also called “crib death” since newborns frequently pass away in their cribs. The causes of SIDS are unpredictable; however, suffocation and overheating may result in an unexplained death.

Prevention:

To avoid the possibility of suffocation and lower the risk of SIDS, babies should sleep on their back, in their cribs on a firm mattress. Keep pillows, loose bedding, bumpers, and stuffed animals away from the infant since they can suffocate them.

2. Shaken Baby Syndrome

The shaken baby syndrome typically happens when a parent or other adult looking after the child violently shakes the baby out of irritation or anger, frequently because the child won’t stop weeping. It could cause death or severe brain damage. The shaken baby syndrome results in about one-third of all fatalities resulting from child abuse. 

The symptoms include irritability, sleepiness, seizures, irregular breathing, poor eating, bruises, and vomiting.  

Prevention:

Try singing or chatting softly, holding your baby against your bare skin, gently rocking, swaddling, administering a pacifier, taking a stroll with a stroller, or having a drive in the car to try and quiet a wailing infant.

If the child won’t stop crying, look for any disease symptoms and contact the doctor if you suspect a medical emergency. Never leave your child alone with a caretaker who gets angry quickly, has a violent past, or has a temper.

3. Drowning

More kids between the ages of 1-4 pass away in the US from drowning than from any other cause other than birth abnormalities. Most drowning accidents in children under the age of four happen in swimming pools, and two-thirds of drownings in newborns under the age of one happen in bathtubs. Drowning can occur anytime, even when kids shouldn’t be near water, like when they get unsupervised access to swimming pools or bathtubs.

Prevention

When bathing or near water, keep the infant at arm’s reach. Their arms are still not strong enough, they can’t turn, and they can’t control their heads. Children may drown in the shallowest of waters, so never leave them unattended in the bathroom, near the pool, and at the beach. 

4. Choking & Suffocation

Choking and suffocation occur when anything restricts a baby’s airway and stops them from breathing. Children under the age of four are especially at risk of suffocation. Babies use anything and everything in their mouths to investigate their surroundings. Anything that can cover a baby’s mouth or nose, including large food pieces, plastic wrappers, and other objects, might cause choking. 

Prevention

Never leave anything small within your baby’s reach. Do not give your infant foods like raw carrot, apple, hot dog, grape, peanut, or popcorn chunks. To avoid choking, slice anything you serve your infant into small pieces.

Never place your infant on a plastic bean bag, water bed, or soft surface that could cover the face and restrict airflow to the mouth and nose. If placed over the mouth and nose, plastic wrappers and bags create a tight seal that could suffocate your infant. 

5. Car Accidents, Falls, & Other Injuries

Infants suffer severe injuries in violent car accidents. Toddlers (children aged one to three) are more likely to sustain cuts and head fractures due to a car accident.

Parents and caregivers can save a life by ensuring that their children are correctly strapped up on every journey.

Soon after birth, babies wiggle, move, and push things away with their feet. Even these very early actions could cause you to tumble. If not secured, your baby may tumble off objects as they age and learn to roll over. Injuries may also result from broken baby-safe toys.

Prevention

Make sure the car safety seat for your infant is appropriately installed. Read and abide by the seat’s operating instructions and the parts in your owner’s handbook about using car safety seats correctly. 

Ensure that none of your child’s toys are smaller than the child’s mouth, and keep an eye out for those that have been broken or damaged.

Never leave your infant unattended on a bed, couch, changing table, or chair. When you cannot hold your baby, place him in a secure location like a crib or playpen.

What To Do In Case Of An Emergency?

If you find your child in a crisis but aren’t sure what happened, you should assess the scenario to ensure the baby’s safety. Observe them and check if they are breathing, bleeding, or exhibiting any other life-threatening symptoms. 

If the child stops reacting to you and becomes unresponsive, call for help and begin CPR. Lay your baby on his back on a level, hard surface, such as the floor. Start doing 2-finger chest compressions at 100–120 beats per minute. 

Moreover, use a personal emergency call system to make a quick 911 call. The Bluetooth wearable Silent Beacon panic button connects to an app and provides an efficient and affordable security option for your child. It is a wearable safety device you can wear, hang from your stroller, or fasten to your diaper bag. Pushing a button will promptly call 911 for assistance if an emergency occurs.

The safety of their children is the top priority of every parent. Every parent should understand the typical safety issues that babies can encounter, how to avoid them, and how to respond in an emergency.

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