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25th October 2024
01:02pm BST
A warning has been shared with parents about a dangerous pushchair error that many of us make in the summer.
Pushchairs are a life saviour on those busy family days out, whether you're at the zoo, beach, or the local park.
Our little ones can get irritable walking around in the heat so having a pushchair there for them is essential.
However, many parents don't realise that putting a blanket over their child's pushchair to shield them from the sun is incredibly dangerous.
We may think we're helping them by protecting them from the sun but this action can cause unexpected deaths in children.
Kate Holmes of The Lullaby Trust explained that this can cause SIDS.
She told The Sun:
"We advise not to cover a baby’s pram with a blanket or cloth as this can lead to overheating, which increases the chance of SIDS."
"Having a barrier between parent/carer and baby is also slightly risky, as it makes it difficult to be able to monitor their baby’s temperature easily or easily see if their baby is in any difficulty."
According to experts, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than one.
It is often referred to as 'cot death' because most cases are associated with sleep.
The SIDS rate in Ireland is constantly declining.
It has gone from a rate of 2.2 per 1000 live births in the 1980s to 0.8 per 1000 live births from 1993 to 1997.
The increase in awareness and campaigns has helped lower the number of SIDS cases in Ireland.
