Safety and Injury Prevention - Caring for Kids is a website developed by the Canadian Paediatric Society that provides parents with information about their child’s health and well-being.
Injury Topics - Parachute Canada is a national charity dedicated to injury prevention.
For information about car seat safety visit Transport Canada Child car seat safety or Parachute Canada’s Car Seat page.
Safety alerts and notices for child car seats (canada.ca)
Find recalls, advisories and safety alerts in Canada here. You can use the advanced search options to sort by category or type in keywords, such as juvenile or infant. You can also subscribe to alerts and notifications.
Home safety – Parachute (parachutecanada.org)
SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) (publichealthgreybruce.on.ca)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the sudden unexpected and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant, less than one year of age. The specific cause of SIDS remains unknown. However there are certain risk factors that include sleeping position, exposure to tobacco smoke and overheating.
Sleep Position
Research has shown that babies who sleep on their back have a reduced risk of SIDS compared to babies who sleep on their tummy or side.
Normal healthy babies do not choke or have any other problems resulting from sleeping on their back. It is not necessary to force babies to stay on their back once they have mastered the ability to turn on their own.
Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
Babies who have been exposed to tobacco smoke either before or after birth have an increased risk for SIDS compared to those who have not been exposed.
Overheating
Research indicates that babies who become too hot have an increased risk of SIDS. If a room temperature is comfortable for parents, it is fine for baby too. Check the back of baby's neck for perspiration -your baby should not be sweating.
Breastfeeding
Babies who are breastfed or fed expressed breast milk may have some protection against SIDS.
Crib Products
Avoid the use of bumper pads, soft mattresses, pillows, comforters and stuffed toys in your baby's crib. These can impede adequate air circulation and can also lead to suffocation.
Recommendations
Too often parents are told that their baby has colic when they are in a normal, but difficult developmental stage during which they cannot be soothed easily. This stage is call the Period of Purple Crying and begins at about 2 weeks of age and continues until about 3-4 months of age.
Visit www.purplecrying.info to learn about the period of purple crying. This website helps parents of new babies understand a developmental stage that is not widely known. It provides education on the normal crying curve and the dangers of shaking a baby.
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