 Are the toxic fire retardant chemicals that are in practically all mattresses and bedding products,the reason for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? Strong scientific evidence shows that it is.
SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is something the majority of new parents are terrified about and rightly so. When I was pregnant with the first of my two children, like any new mum to be, you hear about SIDS and you want to do everything humanly possible to prevent this ever happening.
So at first my husband and I researched all the standard practices against SIDS eg, making sure baby was face up and at the end of the bed, no toys or bumpers in cots, no pillows, no mobiles or cords that could be a strangulation hazard, no quilts etc. We also looked into investing in a sleep apnea mat and a baby sound monitor, but because of the EMF radiation that the majority of these devices cause, they can be a health hazard in their own right - see article 'Creating a healthy sleeping environment for baby'. While researching the various SIDS prevention methods, and also looking into purchasing an organic cotton mattresses, I came upon a very interesting method called, Mattress Wrapping to prevent SIDS, this method if followed properly, has had a 100% success rate(196,000 babies using this method) and is very logical and makes complete sense.
The Mattress Wrapping Campaign was founded in New Zealand by Dr TJ Sprott OBE MSc PhD FNZIC Consulting Chemist and Forensic Scientist. It is a non-profit organization and Dr Sprott, is a wonderful man, who is always available to help and answer any questions regarding mattress wrapping
Dr Sprott states, “I believe SIDS is caused by gaseous poisoning and the poison comes from the mattress where the baby sleeps. The gas is formed by the action of an otherwise harmless fungus on certain chemicals within the mattress.” The chemicals that Dr Sprott refers to are, Phosphine, Arsine and Stibine, all extremely toxic "nerve gases”, which are a combination of fire retardants, used in the majority of mattresses and bedding, for more in-depth information see www.cotlife2000.co.nz/
Dr Sprott completely believes that SIDS can be avoided if all parents sleep their babies safely, by following his mattress wrapping technique and using the correct bedding and clothing.
 What we can do?
Wrap your baby's mattress in an approved Mattress Wrap to stop any toxic gases being inhaled by your baby. All the important and relevant information regarding mattress wrapping and where to purchase a certified mattress wrap from, is at
www.cotlife2000.co.nz
Note that the Cot Life 2000 mattress-wrapping protocol has strict specifications for the bedding which must be used on top of a wrapped mattress. In addition, babies should not be overdressed for sleep. Full information on these matters is set out on the Cot Life 2000 website www.cotlife2000.co.nz on the page.
Note - I still believe CERTIFIED 100% pure organic cotton mattresses and bedding are excellent for our health and the environment and highly recommend them as an option for both bassinets, cots and all beds, both children and adults. We personally have them in our own home, but Professor Sprott still recommends that you wrap even an organic bassinet, or cot mattresses during the crucial SIDS period of birth to 13 months, ( or 14-18 months if baby was premature or sick). He has had to date, 100% success rate with his wrapping protocol and he follows strict guidelines for wrapping as to date they have never failed, so bringing in different factors e.g organic cotton mattresses is not something he has tested for and can therefore not put his name behind using them, which is fair enough.
That being said...
I also interviewed Peter the Owner of Organature and he assured me that his own brand of 100% certified organic cotton cot mattresses are free of all chemicals including arsenic and that they are thoroughly tested to ensure they are free of all harmful substances and he feels that there is no need to wrap his organic cot mattresses as they do not off-gas.
Peter says to protect an organic cotton mattress from baby wetting the mattress you could put a small, square cut, sheet of plain polyethylene plastic where baby's bottom would be.
So armed with the above knowledge, by far the safest choices would be to ABSOLUTELY wrap your baby's cot mattress. If you do buy a CERTIFIED 100% organic cotton cot mattress from a manufacturer that can show you documentation that his cotton is certified organic and has been tested for ALL harmful substances, then you have to personally decide whether you still want to follow Professor Sprotts protocol as he strictly recommends and even wrap your organic cot mattress, until the SIDS age danger is passed.
As most people do not buy certified organic mattresses then we urge you to please WRAP your baby's mattress and protect them from SIDS.
|
Babies & Children 
