Crib mattresses can be toxic !

[cheygirl]

Originally Posted by Indianamom*2 Would a wool mattress pad help with the gassing ? We have a waterproof one on there but I dont think that its anything special.

Unfortunately I don't think wool will stop offgassing. Wool is breathable and therefore permeable to any gases that might be rising from the materials below. If you can air it out for a while, that would help.

There is a mattress cover on the market called babesafe which is made of polyethylene plastic that naivete referred to, and is made to encase those offgassing toxic mattresses. It does make sense that it would work....polyethylene is one of those "safe" plastics (i.e., it is not known to leach or offgas like PVC, for example), and is impermeable so any offgassing should be contained within the cover. Apparently this cover is very popular in New Zealand, where it is believed to have reduced the number of sids deaths (though I don't know if this is actually a proven fact, or just something claimed by the company). http://www.mothering.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-97270.html
http://www.babesafe.com/

I have a waterproof (I think it's PUL) layer on DD's mattress cover, which I think would help stop offgassing....but it doesn't wrap all the way around the mattress, so I'm looking into getting a babesafe or similar cover. Ironic, that you can use plastic to prevent exposure to toxins emitted from other kinds of plastic .

[Mom2CoopnBelle]

ARGH!~ And to think someone just told me to put my son down on his bed with no sheet or mattress pad since he's pt'ing and it'll be easier to clean up! ACK! Yuck... POO!!!!

[Cathy_B]

Yes yes yes!

Check out midwiferytoday.com (.org?) and type "SIDS newsflash" in the search, for an article on this.

In New Zealand they have almost ELIMINATED SIDS by finding a way to correct this problem.

I wrote to AP-guru Dr. William Sears asking him to comment on this on his website and he did nothing. We need our pediatricians to look at this, and INFORM US!!!!!

When I read that article I was fuming: the research here simply ignores all of the research elsewhere in the world. Know why? Mattress companies fund the research, so they get to scew the results. At least, that is according to Dr. Sears. I wish, if he cares enough to disclose that fact about the research funding, that he would care enough to share other important details..... like the probable link between matress toxicity and SIDS.

[Jz_Doll]

when researching ways to prevent sids, I found the bebesafe cover. After all the research in NZ, they claim to not have had a single case of sids while using the cover "as instructed" I found this very reassuring. for the price of a few dollars I had peace of mind

[lulusmom]

Originally Posted by naivete Outgassing is why we don't buy new mattresses. We can't afford wool or organic, but if you buy a mattress second hand it's already been outgassed. It takes about 2-3 years for a mattress to fully outgas, so if you get one after that time frame it's safe, and should still be in great shape (And there are ways to disinfect used mattresses, or you could use a mattress protector)

How would you disinfect a used mattress? I have a used one that I am a little leery of and want to know!

Luckily, we've been cosleeping and the mattress we bought for dd is about a year old and hasn't been used yet. I see no end to cosleeping in the near future so the mattress may be okay by the time she actually uses it.