Are baby hammocks safe for sleeping babies? A randomised controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Sleep Medicine
• Infant Safety

Background:

• Concerns regarding infant deaths linked to baby hammocks have emerged.
• The safety of infant sleep environments, specifically hammocks, requires thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of baby hammock sleep on infant oxygenation.
• To compare sleep characteristics between infants sleeping in hammocks versus standard bassinets.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial involving healthy, full-term infants aged 4-8 weeks.
• Infants were allocated to sleep in either a baby hammock (n=14) or a bassinet (n=9).
• Analysis included sleep state, oxygen desaturation events, apnea, hypopnea, and mean oxygen saturation (SpO2).

Main Results:

• No significant difference in mean SpO2 or oxygen desaturation events between hammock and bassinet groups.
• Infants in hammocks experienced significantly shorter sleep durations compared to those in bassinets (59 vs. 81 minutes).

Conclusions:

• Correctly used baby hammocks did not compromise infant upper airway function or oxygenation.
• The clinical significance of reduced sleep duration in hammocks remains undetermined.
• Given the inability to predict when infants can roll, unsupervised sleep in hammocks is not recommended.