Keeping your baby safe

Parents must nourish and nurture their children. They also must protect them from harm.

Eight major dangers

Our infant safety checklist can help you take the steps needed to protect your child from these eight major dangers: automobiles, burns, drowning, falls, miscellaneous and deliberate injury, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), suffocation and choking.

Helpful tips

Following these tips can help you and your new baby settle into a safe household:

Keep the phone numbers for the office of your baby's health care provider available wherever you have a telephone.

Give babies room to breathe. Babies cannot always move their heads to make sure they have enough room to breathe.

Always put babies to sleep on their backs (as opposed to lying on their stomachs). Without warning, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) can take the life of even the healthiest infant. But research has proven that putting your baby to sleep on his or her back can reduce the risk of SIDS by over 40 percent. Preventing all exposure to tobacco smoke, avoiding soft bedding and any other soft objects (stuffed animals, crib bumper pads, etc.), and not overheating your infant with too many clothes or too high a room temperature also help prevent SIDS.

The back position is not necessary if your infant is awake. The back position can cause some flattening of the back of the head and also some decreased strength in the shoulder muscles. Avoid these side effects by keeping your infant on his stomach for some of his playtime and waking hours.

Never transport your child in a car without using a car safety seat. Hundreds of children less than 5 years of age die each year in car accidents and thousands more suffer serious injury. Properly used car seats can prevent many of these injuries and deaths. That's why all 50 states have laws requiring their use. Read more about child car seats and car seat safety...

Test hot water bathing and bottles on the inside of your wrist. Otherwise, water that may feel only slightly hot to you may burn your baby. You should also turn down the temperature on your water heater to between 120 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

Don't put baby food or formula in the microwave. Microwave ovens heat formula and other foods unevenly resulting in "hot spots." Overheated milk loses some of its value. It also can burn your baby's tender mouth. Instead, place the formula-filled bottle in a jar of warm water and allow the formula to warm gradually. Some babies are quite happy with unheated formula.

Don't smoke or drink hot liquids while holding, feeding, changing or bathing your infant. Hot ashes or liquid could splash onto and burn your baby's skin.

Never, ever shake a baby. Frustrated parents and fragile babies can make a lethal combination: shaken baby syndrome. Babies have weak neck muscles that do not fully support their heavy heads. When shaken, their fragile brains move back and forth within their skulls tearing delicate blood vessels and bruising the brain itself. A few seconds of shaking can lead to a lifetime of disability or to death.

Crying can get on your nerves. If it does, take a break, count to 10, walk away for a while, plug your ears or do anything to relieve your stress. But don't let yourself do something that will destroy your baby's life.

Keep babies, 6 months and younger, out of direct sunlight. Infants are prone to sunburn because they have thinner and more sensitive skin than older children. If your baby must be in the sun, shade, long clothing, a hat with a brim are essential. But don't use sunscreen on infants less than 6 months old. When your child is old enough for sunscreen, try to avoid putting it on areas where he or she may lick it off.

Never leave your baby alone Until your baby learns to roll over or crawl, he can't get himself into places that might be dangerous for him. However, you never know when that first roll will occur. For some babies it occurs very early, in the first few weeks of life. Therefore, you need to watch your baby, especially when he or she is on a table or any other elevated surface. To prevent drowing, never leave your baby alone in a tub no matter how shallow the water. You also should never leave your baby alone with a young child or pet.

Wash your hands well after each diaper change and after you use the bathroom. Shortly after birth, babies' intestines become home to many bacteria. The bacteria do not hurt the baby and may actually help in some ways. But when we are exposed to someone else's bacteria we may become ill. As you change your baby's diaper some of your baby's bacteria will almost invariably end up on your hands. Regular handwashing protects you and your baby.