What Parents Need to Know About Baby Safety Issues?

Is a baby registry list of 200 safety products necessary? Does it take two months of research and deliberation to pick the right baby stroller and baby car seat? With headlines that the U.S. child mortality rate is worse than that of twenty-three other countries, and with 28,000 babies under age one dying every year, new expectant mothers may feel afraid it. In 1960, the United States had the twelfth-lowest infant mortality rate, and now it is thirty-fourth. But babies are not at risk the way they used to be. They just seem to be at risk, and new parents feel unprepared to cope. Prematurity and birth defects are the main risk.



Again, the headlines obscure the whole picture. The "small print" reveals that 69 percent of the deaths were preterm babies. In 1960, more babies died per 1,000 than now. Other countries’ health care is improving. It is of concern that our ranking is worsening, but the headlines imply a desperate state of affairs. Even though we are now thirty-fourth, this is out of hundreds of countries, and the top fifty all have low mortality rates. Actual health spending per child has decreased in the United States, compared to other countries, and that is a concern. Yet the question is this: is it okay to take statistics out of context in order to give the impression of a far worse situation for the sake of a genuinely needy cause?



Fewer than 950 babies die annually from accidents. Many of these are auto accidents. This leaves a small number out of 4.3 million at "imminent risk," in the words of the baby manufacturing industry.



Parents are so busy fitting electrical outlet protectors and DVD player guards that they forget to secure heavy bookshelves, window blinds, and windows. The problem is often laziness. It is harder to secure a bookcase than an outlet plug, and securing a bookcase can damage the wall. So we think that if we install fifty electrical outlet covers, we have "put in our time" childproofing. We should focus on protection from significant dangers.



Most accidents are usually the fault of parents’ not paying enough attention: leaving the baby in the bath to get the door; not buckling the baby in the car seat properly; leaving the baby unstrapped on a changing table; not putting on the stroller parking brake; not having stair gates; or just not watching the baby.



In any given year, there are half a dozen stroller deaths and three or four baby gate failures. All are tragedies of the greatest magnitude, and all lead to product recalls. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is the place to go for information. The latest high-chair recall involved 1.2 million chairs. That is 1.2 million accidents waiting to happen, but there were actually only twenty-four injuries, and these were minor bruises and a hairline fracture to the arm. That was one of the largest high-chair recalls. Most products are recalled on the suspicion of a danger before there are any injuries.



How panicked should you be if you have sensible precautions in place? There are baby gates that will not work for your home. You can try out the gate and return it if it isn’t working for your house. It is up to you to stop your toddler from pulling the baby over on his or her head by hanging on to the jogging stroller. (Why do you have a jogging stroller, anyway? They aren’t safe, according to consumer and official pediatric agencies. Do not let fashion and fitness trump safety.)



Here are the top-five worst things for a baby (in no particular order):

- Baby bath

- Crib bedding

- Bath safety seat

- Baby trend double jogging stroller

- Baby bouncer and walker



Here are the most essential items:

- Crib with no drop sides

- Properly installed baby strollers and car seats

- Four-wheel baby trend double stroller

- Hot water controller

- Window locks and restraints to hold heavy furniture to the wall

- PVC-, phthalate-, and BPA-free bottles, teethers, and toys

- Fragrance- and color-free soaps, shampoos, and detergents

- All-in-one seasonal sleep sack (no blankets)



Cloth or disposable diapers, depending on the region. (To leave the least carbon footprint: In arid desert climates with wide open spaces, use disposable diapers; in cities or areas with plentiful water, use cloth diapers.)



After birth-related problems, which are dealt with by medical personnel, the responsibility for a baby’s safety is the parents’. Cars and maltreatment are the main dangers.



With headlines that the U.S. child mortality rate is worse than that of twenty-three other countries, and with 28,000 babies under age one dying every year, new expectant mothers may feel afraid it. In 1960, the United States had the twelfth-lowest infant mortality rate, and now it is thirty-fourth. But babies are not at risk the way they used to be.