Car seat danger: Babies shouldn't sleep in car seats when not traveling

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against routine sleeping in sitting devices for infants and a new study shows why.

Car seats are the safest place to be for babies when they’re being driven around, but it’s another story if parents use them as an alternative for a crib or bassinet once they get home.

When infants die while sleeping in sitting devices, almost two-thirds of the cases involve babies slumbering in car seats, a study published Monday in Pediatrics found.

But just a small fraction of those deaths occurred while the infant was in the car, said Dr. Jeffrey Colvin, lead author of the study and a pediatrician at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

“It really appeared that the deaths in these car seats occurred in the context where the car seat wasn’t being used for its purpose in transporting a child, but instead it was being used as a substitute for a crib or bassinet,” Colvin told TODAY.

“But they aren’t as safe as a crib or bassinet when the child is out of the car and sleeping … There’s a lack of awareness (about this). I think every parent, including myself, has been guilty of doing this at one time or another.”

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