Jan,
I agree with you and Harvey that many babies in our culture suffer
sensory deprivation.  Zeskind's work showed that infants with
neurological immaturities and autonomic dysrythmicity improved with
attentive parental care, including carrying, rocking, etc.  And the
breastfed ones with attentive care did best of all.

Another reason to be concerned about infant car seat use outside the car
is the recent study that showed reduced oxygen status when newborns stay
in them for more than a half hour.  I suspect the flexed position which
narrows the airway conspires with the lack of vestibular and tactile
stimulation to reduce air exchange.  (Now, I'm NOT saying we should not
use them in cars, having been an EMT in the days before carseats and
having seen infants with skull fractures from car accidents , I fully
believe that the 90% reduction in head injuries merits their use in the
car.)  But I think reduction in oxygenation is something that we can use
to educate parents not to use them in the home.

While I do not like adversarial discussions on Lactnet (or anywhere), I
do think that the civil discussion about these issues brought up
interesting information that added to everyone's "bag of tricks".
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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