Basically, if it's safe enough to touch the food you eat, it's safe enough to touch your baby. Some parents also choose to avoid certain materials such as foam, latex, glue, or added flame retardants (none of which are found in HALO DreamWeave). While it may be tempting to reuse a crib mattress or buy a second-hand one, you should only consider a used mattress if it meets the above safety and cleaning guidelines. It is important to make sure that the mattress you choose is in good condition so that it is safe for your baby.
A memory foam crib mattress is not safe for babies. Crib mattresses should be firm to prevent suffocation, and memory foam is soft. Babies need a cool sleeping surface because they can't regulate their own body temperature and memory foam is warm to sleep on. There are other reasons memory foam mattresses are a bad choice for babies.
There are strong safety guidelines that advise parents on the importance of choosing a firm mattress for their baby's crib. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), as well as several professional organizations, including experts such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, recommend placing babies on a firm mattress. Because newborns and babies can't roll or move easily on their own, they have difficulty changing positions or moving their heads. If the crib mattress is too soft, it will conform to the shape of the baby's head, which can be uncomfortable and dangerous.
This is where it matters to have a firm mattress. In addition to reducing the risk of SIDS, having a firm mattress in the crib provides the necessary resistance to support proper skeletal and muscle development. This is especially the case when your baby activates in the crib, starts spinning and finally stands up. Further research on all children's mattresses (not just memory foam) concludes that materials used in the production of conventional mattresses have the potential to be a significant threat to children's health, and that mattress covers in particular can cause babies to breathe a high concentration of phthalates.
However, a used crib mattress (even if used by a sibling, close family member, or friend) may not be as safe as you think. A new analysis of 20 new and old crib mattresses sold in the United States, containing polyurethane foam and polyester foam filling, release significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are harmful to baby's health. This new federal rule incorporates, by reference ASTM F2933-21, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Crib Mattresses. Also, if the mattress makes noise when you move it or if you can feel the springs protrude through the cushioning, do not use the mattress.
Research into the respiratory effects of gas release from mattresses in mice found that traditional crib mattresses caused upper and lower respiratory tract irritation in mice, as well as decreases in mid-expiratory airflow velocity. To be clear, these studies do not apply specifically to memory foam, but to crib mattresses more generally. What they suggest, instead, is to buy your mattress in advance and give you ample opportunities for the mattress to “ventilate”. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory safety standard that will ensure that crib mattresses, as well as aftermarket mattresses used in playgrounds and cribs, are safer for Foam mattresses and innersprings are two common types of crib mattresses that offer ideal support for babies and toddlers.
The crib mattress should be firm because babies lack motor control in their early stages of development and can sink into a mattress that is too soft and suffocate. However, it is also not a backrest for memory foam mattresses for cribs, and it is a good case to choose an organic crib mattress or an organic mini crib mattress, such as those from Naturepedic, instead of conventional ones, when it comes time to transition your baby to his crib. .
