Infant Seats, Car Seats, Bouncers & Baby Swings May be Dangerous to Babies, Study Reveals

Parents need to take caution when putting their babies in infant seats, car seats, bouncers, and baby swings. According to CBSNews.com, a medical practitioner from Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, Dr. Erich Batra, found that 47 infant deaths below two years old were attributed to accidents in baby swings, bouncers and car seats.

Asphyxiation is the culprit of most of these deaths, as it was found to have usually occurred after infants were strangled on the seats. According to Batra, close adult supervision is necessary to prevent such accidents. He said, "In a swing or bouncer chair, these are fine to use if a parent is supervising the infants, but the infants can maneuver themselves often in positions that compromises their airway."

Another tip from Batra from preventing infant seat accidents was to "not use a car seat outside of the car and an infant should never be in a car seat with partially buckled straps."

CBSNews.com reported that eight-month-old Trevor lost his life when he was strangled in a day care baby swing. Trevor's mom, Staci Tober, shared in an interview with CBS News that the baby "had been left alone for about six minutes while she [the day care worker] was tending to other children."

Meanwhile, a recent accident at the Utah River revealed that infant car seat safety influences most of the chances of a baby's survival in car crashes. Earlier in March this year, baby Lily from Spanish Fork, Utah, was found strapped in her seat in a car crash at the said river, according to Wnep.com.

Another article published in CBS News revealed that car crashes have been the top cause of deaths among children aged three and above. Car crashes also caused about 179,000 injuries among children annually.

If used properly though, infant car seats lower deaths among infants and toddlers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The most important finding from this study is that, while age and racial disparities exist, overall few children are using the restraints recommended for their age group, and many children over five are sitting in the front seat," advised Dr. Michelle Macy advised.

The expert added, "Our findings demonstrate that not all children have been reached equally by community-based public education campaigns and the passage of child safety seat laws in 48 states. Further development and dissemination of culturally specific programs that have demonstrated success in promoting restraint use among minority children are necessary."