What are the dangers of babies sleeping on their stomachs?

Everyone's sleeping position is different. Some people like to sleep on their side, some like to sleep on their back, and some like to sleep on their stomach. Different postures will also bring some advantages and disadvantages. The baby's sleeping posture will also affect the baby's development. Let us understand what are the dangers of babies sleeping on their stomachs?

Among the three common sleeping positions, sleeping on the side, lying on the back and lying on the stomach, lying on the stomach is an unhealthy sleeping position that will affect the development of the baby's teeth.

Inducing nocturnal bruxism: Experts have recently discovered that improper sleeping posture at night can also cause bruxism. If the child sleeps on his stomach, his lower jaw will be under pressure from the head. At this time, the muscles of the whole body are in a relaxed state. In order to get rid of the pressure, the lower jaw moves. There is another reason for bruxism. Children sleeping on their stomachs will unconsciously put their faces on the pillow, which will squeeze the nostrils and mouth, hinder breathing, hinder chest expansion, and affect lung capacity. As a result, there is a lack of oxygen in the body, which affects the function of the cerebral cortex and subcortical centers, produces local excitement, and causes paroxysmal spasms of the facial masseter muscles, leading to bruxism. If it is not corrected in time, it will not only cause teeth wear and loosening, gum disease, cause periodontal disease, and affect the normal development of the face, but also make the brain unable to get enough rest, resulting in mental fatigue and lack of concentration the next day.

Impact on tooth arrangement According to research by relevant scholars, the distance between the left and right teeth of children who lie prone is 1mm to 2mm smaller than that of children who lie supine, which means that the teeth of the former children appear crowded. Generally speaking, children start to change their teeth around the age of 6, and their deciduous teeth gradually fall out to make way for permanent teeth. If the gap between teeth is unreasonable, it may cause difficulty in tooth replacement, which in turn affects the order of tooth arrangement, causing uneven teeth and hindering facial beauty.

Studies have shown that sleeping on one's stomach has been confirmed to be one of the main causes of sudden infant death syndrome.

This study was conducted in Quebec, Canada. The researchers used a questionnaire to collect relevant information from 157 families whose babies died of sudden infant death syndrome. The questionnaire included information such as whether the baby had the habit of sleeping on his or her stomach, how long he or she had this habit, and the reasons for the change in sleeping position. The results showed that among the 157 babies, about 80% were sleeping on their stomachs when they died. Among all babies, 60% (93) have the habit of sleeping on their stomachs. Among the rest (64) babies who do not have the habit, 21 suffered an accident in the first week after changing to sleeping on their stomachs, and 18 of them suffered an accident the first time they changed to sleeping on their stomachs. As for those who change their baby's sleeping position, half are parents and half are caregivers.

Parents should communicate more with the nanny about sleeping positions, and do not let the baby sleep on his stomach just because it is more comfortable. According to a report in the journal Pediatrics, researchers conducted a sleeping position study on 350 healthy babies and found that babies who sleep on their stomachs develop intelligence faster, but babies who sleep lying down can slowly catch up with babies who sleep on their stomachs. However, sleeping on your stomach can easily lead to sudden suffocation, while sleeping lying down is safe.

The above are a series of dangers of babies liking to sleep on their stomachs. This is not alarmist. Many bad habits are often formed invisibly. Sleeping on your back will affect the child's brain and bone development, and will even have a certain impact on the baby's teeth, so mothers should help their children change this habit.