The failure of a popular brand of baby dummy in Australia has sparked safety fears on both sides of the Tasman.
A baby boy choked on a Happy Baby brand dummy after the teat came off.
The company has not recalled the dummies; instead it has asked for the broken one to be returned for tests.
It has also warned customers not to over-sterilise their dummies, which it says will cause them to deteriorate faster than normal.
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/baby-chokes-after-dummy-breaks-3662052
Jul 19
Parents are being warned against buying baby bottles made with a chemical linked to cancers and other health problems.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic substance added to plastics to make them tougher. It is common in many hard, clear plastic baby’s bottles and containers for adult drinks.
The warning comes in the wake of new research by the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute. A team led by Professor Murray Mitchell published findings this week showing that even low levels of BPA can be passed by pregnant mothers to their foetus through the placenta.
Mitchell said international research has linked the substance to breast and prostate cancer, hyperactivity, erectile dysfunction and other health issues.
He said it was crucial pregnant mothers drank from BPA-free bottles and urged parents to use glass, disposable bottles or BPA-free bottles for babies.
Mitchell is calling for a complete ban on BPA, which is outlawed in Denmark, Canada and three US states.
Six of the biggest baby-bottle manufacturers in the US, including Disney, have stopped using it and scientists are lobbying for a ban in Britain.
Mitchell said he advised a New Zealand Health Ministry sub-committee last year to outlaw the chemical. He claims officials said they were “overloaded” by a list of environmental contaminants to evaluate.
“If the Canadian Government has moved you would wonder why the New Zealand Government seems to be silent on the issue,” he said.
Mitchell, whose research has been published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said manufacturers were not required to say if their products contained BPA.
His study was carried out on women’s placentas and revealed a foetus could be “completely exposed” to the chemical and was unable to “deal with the compounds”.
Glass, disposable and BPA-free alternatives to hard, plastic bottles are available, but can be more expensive.
The website babyuniverse.co.nz sells glass bottles for $7.99 and BPA-free plastic bottles for $23.99, compared to $3.79 for a basic, hard-plastic Baby’s Best alternative at The Warehouse.
Mitchell said he bought disposable bottles for his son and advised others to do the same.
The ministries of health and consumer affairs referred questions about BPA to the New Zealand Food Safety Authority.
An authority spokesman said they welcomed new research, but took into account all the evidence available when making decisions.
Other international studies had found that expected levels of exposure to BPA did not pose a risk to consumers, whatever their age.
Parents pay for peace of mind
Tim and Helen Hills didn’t mind spending extra money on a BPA-free bottle for their 10-month-old daughter, Beth.
The Wellington couple bought an Avent bottle for several times the price of a basic, hard-plastic alternative, after researching the health risks linked to the substance.
Tim, a 30-year-old banker, said he and Helen, a 28-year-old sleep psychologist, paid more “so we would feel comfortable – it’s a security blanket”.
He said they were like many Kiwi parents who would rather buy the “healthier, greener” option, just in case.
He said many retailers appearedto have high-quality bottles on their shelves – probably for the higher profit margins, but also for well-informed consumers who wanted the best for their babies.
And if there was concern over BPA he hoped the Government or Plunket would advocate for a ban on the sale of such products.
Mon 28th June 2010
Two children in the past three months have required liver transplants after being given painkillers, prompting medics to call for a review of over-the-counter medicine.
Both of the children had overdosed on paracetamol. One of them is a two-year-old from Wellington.
Now a group of Capital & Coast District Health Board clinicians is calling for a review of the way drugs – including those on supermarket shelves – are dispensed.
They point to an increase in addiction to codeine-based drugs, which have been used in scores of suicide attempts.
The National Poisons Centre lists paracetamol as the most common substance in the poisoning of children under five, accounting for about 65 per cent of its calls. In the past five years the centre has been alerted to 1814 children under seven accidentally taking paracetamol, 389 of them needing medical help.
There were 617 notifications of children accidentally taking ibuprofen, with 97 requiring medical help, and 731 notifications of children accidentally taking aspirin, of whom 122 needed medical help.
A spokeswoman said it was not clear how many of those products were bought over the counter and how many were prescribed.
Children took accidental overdoses when they were given the wrong dose unintentionally or found drugs and took them.
Starship hospital child health director Richard Aickin said the cases were rare, but would have life-long ramifications for the children, aged between two and three.
He would not reveal details of the two recent transplant cases, other than that they resulted from paracetamol overdoses.
Dosing children too regularly or giving too much in single doses were the usual causes of the problem, he said. “It’s quite difficult for them to take enough by themselves to cause serious problems.”
An overdose of paracetamol could cause irreversible liver damage, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of consciousness and bleeding. Symptoms were the same for adults and children. “It’s just a total shutdown in body chemistry.”
He called for paracetamol to be sold only in small bottles, as opposed to the one-litre bottles available in pharmacies. All medicines should be sold in child-proof packaging unless otherwise requested, he said.
Geoff Robinson, a Capital & Coast chief medical officer and detoxification unit physician, suspected many New Zealanders, young and old, were severely damaging themselves with over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin and paracetamol.
National Poisons Centre figures showed ibuprofen had been used in many intentional overdoses, he said. It could cause ulcers, while aspirin could cause bleeding in the stomach if used in excessive doses.
Dr Robinson is one of a group of Wellington physicians who last week published a report pointing to a trend of codeine addiction from over-the-counter medicines. These drugs included easily accessible products such as Nurofen Plus and Panadeine Plus.
The report, in the New Zealand Medical Journal, calls for a review of how commonly used over-the-counter drugs are sold.
STEPS TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE
- Stick to the instructions on packaging, and always check instructions on different products – not all paracetamol is the same strength. Some pharmacies provide a free service of weighing your child to determine the correct dosage.
- Keep medicine in childproof packaging.
- Keep medicine out of sight and reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet.
- Check ingredients in other medications – other products can contain paracetamol which could lead to an accidental overdose.
- Don’t bulk buy. Choosing smaller containers can minimise the risk of an overdose.Don’t think you’re safe if you don’t have symptoms straight away – people can overdose through a build-up of paracetamol if they continually take a higher dose.
- If in doubt, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice.
Source: Starship hospital, National Poisons Centre
The deaths of three Wellington babies while sleeping beside adults has prompted yet another warning from the coroner.
Wellington coroner Garry Evans called on the Ministry of Health to strengthen guidelines on safe sleeping practices for newborns in May and again in August after investigating the sudden deaths of eight infants.
Another warning has now been issued by fellow Wellington coroner Ian Smith after findings were issued on three more deaths.
Hope Kuti was 10 weeks old and living with her family in Wainuiomata on September 19 last year.
Hope was one of four young children, but at the time of her death only one other – a three-year-old – remained at the house due to “an extensive need for Child, Youth and Family Service (CYFS) to become involved”, Mr Smith said.
He said there had been issues with the parent’s continual domestic violence and neglect and CYFS had not yet been informed of Hope’s birth.
Her mother came home around midnight, going to bed an hour later having drunk upwards of 10 pre-mixed bourbon and colas.
The next morning she discovered Hope lying face down and not breathing.
The three-year-old had since been removed from the house and placed in the care of extended family, Mr Smith said.
A month later, in Cannons Creek, Porirua, Dante Tahuri-Uren died while sleeping on a couch beside his mother .
His mother admitted “spotting” cannabis oil and said they had stopped sleeping in her bed as she did not like the “vibes” upstairs.
They went to sleep at 8.30pm and the mother was woken around 11pm by Dante crying. She woke again at 12.30am and went to change Dante’s nappy but Dante was no longer breathing.
On January 26, 2009, Summer Lamsam was less than three weeks-old, having been born prematurely , when put to bed with her parents in their Porirua home .
She had been sharing the queen-sized bed after refusing to settle in her cot.
When her mother awoke at 4.30am she saw Summer’s father had moved and his back was on the child’s face.
An ambulance was called but Summer could not be revived.
In all three deaths the subsequent coroners’ investigations found the sleeping arrangements were unsafe and likely led to accidental asphyxia.
Mr Smith issued a letter to the Director General of Health, Stephen McKernan, urging that “the public health advice in relation to safe infant care practices and safe sleeping environments be strengthened and broadened”.
He said it should be made clear that bed sharing by adults with infants under six months exposed the child to the risk of death and the safest place for babies to sleep during this period was in a cot beside the parental bed.
The coroners’ warnings followed similar statements from child health experts in December.
Paediatrician Dawn Elder, who studied the last 10 years of unexplained baby deaths in the Wellington region, said work needed to be done on getting information to parents.
Auckland University professor of child health research Evan Mitchell said about half the cases of sudden infant death syndrome occurred in “bed sharing situations”.
South Australian deputy Coroner Tony Schapel also voiced concerns last year, warning against bed sharing as well as placing infants on overly soft mattresses and the use of V-shaped pillows.
Pressure on baby’s chin may be deadly
4:00AM Monday Dec 15, 2008
By Martin Johnston
Deaths of babies expected to be attributed to sleeping in bed with
parents might be from far lighter contact than an adult actually
rolling on top of them, researchers say.
Simply rolling against the baby, or the baby moving in its sleep and
pushing against the adult, could be enough to endanger the infant’s
breathing, they said yesterday.
Wellington coroner Garry Evans has reserved his decisions after
inquests into the deaths of seven babies whose mothers either had slept
with them in the same bed or had put them to sleep on their tummies or
on pillows.
Auckland University professor of physiology Alistair Gunn and
colleagues told the Herald yesterday it was often presumed in such
cases that an adult had inadvertently smothered the baby – and parents
were understandably devastated by the implication.
“This may not be what happened.
“Our research, with x-rays of the newborns’ upper airway, shows that
babies’ oxygen levels can be compromised even if the nose is not
blocked.
“Unlike adults, small babies have a very mobile, unstable lower jaw,
especially in sleep. Thus any pressure on the chin, even that produced
by just bending the baby’s head forwards so that the chin presses
against the baby’s own chest, pushed the large tongue backwards,
narrowing the airway, with a fall in oxygen levels.
“Thus in these tragic cases, the parents may not have actually
rolled on to the infant, but just pushed against the baby’s chin – or
indeed it could have pushed against them as baby moved in its sleep.”
Smoking probably increased risks by dulling a baby’s ability to wake
when oxygen levels were low, said the researchers, including
paediatrician Dr Shirley Tonkin, of the Cot Death Association.
The safest way for babies to sleep was on their backs in a bed or
cradle of their own, in the same room as their parents, they said.
The wharekura (flax cradle), which was developed by Maori cot death
expert Dr David Tipene-Leach and could be placed on a bed, was one safe
option. Another was to use one of the cradles lent by some maternity
hospitals, Sids (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and other organisations.
Auckland coroner Murray Jamieson said in 2005, after a number of
baby deaths from “co-sleeping”, that babies sleeping in their own bed
was vital, even if it was just a banana box strengthened with tape and
some extra cardboard.
The Health Ministry said at the time that bed-sharing could be safe
if its guidelines were followed, but boxes or drawers should not be
used.
NZ Herald
8-Feb-2008
The problem
There are concerns the car seat could fail in certain types of collision.
Details
Evenflo Discovery infant seats made between 2005 and 2008. Models recalled in the US are 390, 391, 534 and 552. Only the 390 and 391 models have been sold in New Zealand, but it is possible other models have been brought in privately.
What to do
Evenflo is providing owners with a free extra fastener to keep the seat in place. It will not be available here for 4-6 weeks – in the meantime retailers will take names of those needing one and they will be contacted when they arrive.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US) is urging owners to keep using their car seats while waiting for the new fastener.
