Experts say that babies, in particular those under one month, should not be left asleep in car seats because there's a higher risk of them stopping breathing.
The element of risk is higher in very young babies because the reflex to keep the head upright, allowing unimpeded breathing, is still developing at this age, say scientists. The respiratory experts are also warning parents that they should ensure their young children are never placed in a sitting position at home, or that they do not, for example, fall into one while resting on a parent.
The findings were based on an analysis of all unexpected deaths among babies up to 12 months in the Canadian province of Quebec between 1991 and 2000. In all, 534 babies died during this period but the cause of death was fully investigated in only 508. Of these, 17 occurred in babies who were seated, predominantly in car seats. Babies aged under a month were found to be most at risk. They were four times more likely to die while seated than others up to the age of 12 months.
Lead researcher Dr Aurore Cote, of McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, said her study was the first ever on sudden infant deaths in a seated position.
She added: 'Our results reveal such deaths are not particularly common and represent only 3 per cent of the total number of unexpected deaths in the first year of life. But we did find an excess of infants of less than one month of age dying in a sitting position in the unexplained death group.
'Our results suggest caution should be used when placing younger infants in car seats and similar sitting devices.'
July 2007
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