Can babies use pillows during the confinement period?

If you have experience, you will know that many babies are not suitable for using pillows. This is because the child's bone development is not yet complete. If a pillow is used too early, it can easily lead to spinal deformity. But some mothers may ask, can babies use pillows during the confinement period? In fact, experts do not recommend it. In fact, babies under three months old do not need to use pillows.

In order to maintain the physiological curvature during sleep and keep a comfortable position, the height should be adjusted as appropriate, but it should not exceed 4 cm. When the baby can lift his head at 3 months old, the cervical spine will have a protruding cervical curve in front, and the spine will no longer be straight. At the same time, as the body develops, the shoulders gradually widen. At this time, in order to ensure a proper sleeping position, you should start using a pillow.

The head development of babies under one year old is an important stage. Having a suitable pillow is very beneficial to the blood circulation in the baby's head and promotes growth and development. If the selection is inappropriate, it will not only affect the physiological functions of the head and neck, but may also cause certain developmental deformities. The height of a baby pillow should be 3-4 cm, and the height of the pillow should be gradually adjusted according to the baby's development; the most appropriate length of the pillow should be the same width as the baby's shoulders.

Newborns don't need pillows, so after the baby can lift his head and be held upright, do he need a pillow?

When the baby is around 3-4 months old, the head becomes more and more stable and the physiological curvature of the neck - the forward curvature - is gradually established, as shown by the red line in the figure below.

However, at this stage, because the baby's cervical spine does not have a large forward curvature, only a little, so generally there is no need to use a pillow.

Some parents find it "quite awkward" when they see their babies don't use pillows, so they fold blankets or towels and try every means to put pillows on their babies.

Even though it’s just a little height, the baby’s cervical curvature at this time is actually too high for a little padding.

In addition, the bigger problem is that the baby is not very flexible when turning over at this time, and using a pillow or "putting something as a pillow" is not safe, as both of them may block the baby's mouth and nose, causing the risk of suffocation.