Graham, my six-month-old, spent the first several months of his life sleeping in his car seat because of reflux. I'm happy to say he's getting better, and he's finally started sleeping in his crib, and sleeping through the night, too. This makes me a happy mom for many reasons. For one thing, if he sleeps through the night, that means that I can (sometimes) sleep through the night, too. I'm also happy that he's spending less time in his potentially toxic car seat and more time in his crib.
I prefer that Graham sleeps in his crib because I decided that one of the things worth spending some extra money on was an organic wool crib mattress.
When I bought a crib for his big brother Alden, who's now two years old, I was much more concerned about the crib itself. Like many first-time parents, I spent hours thinking about what kind of crib to buy--how it looked, could I operate it with one hand, how long would it last, and what it was made of. I found a style I liked that was also made of wood from well-managed forest (see Smarter Living's Label Lookup for better wood certifications) and low in "volatile organic compounds" (or VOCs) released by glues, varnishes, and paints, which can have harmful short- and long-term health effects. The organic mattress we ended up getting was kind of an afterthought. It just seemed like a good idea, and it was sold by the company we bought the crib from.
By the time I was expecting Graham, I realized I had lucked out on the mattress. As I continued to learn more about toxic chemicals in baby products, I discovered that most conventional foam mattresses and pajamas are doused with flame-retardant chemicals and covered in vinyl (aka "polyvinyl chloride" or "PVC") -- two things I would prefer to avoid.
Here's why: Polyurethane foam, which most foam mattresses are made of, has to be treated with flame retardants in order to pass fire safety tests. However, the flame-retardant chemicals themselves aren't required to undergo rigorous safety testing. Isn't that bizarre?
In this country, we let the chemical industry decide what's safe for us and our kids. And in the past, they've made some pretty poor decisions. Chemicals known by the mouth-breaking amalgam "polybrominated diphenyl ethers" (that's PBDEs to you and me), once commonly used as flame retardants in foam furniture, were discontinued when scientists discovered that they built up in breast milk, interfered with thyroid hormone, and could affect brain development.
Another flame retardant known as Tris was shown to cause cancer, and it's been banned from children's pajamas, but not from any other children's products. (Although this might change in New York, where Governor Cuomo just announced he will sign a bill to prohibit the sale of any children's products containing Tris.)
The plastic PVC covering on foam mattresses also worries me. For one thing, making PVC plastic releases cancer-causing dioxins into the environment. But the more immediate danger to babies is that PVC plastic can release chemicals called "phthalates" into the crib environment. Phthalates are hormone-disrupting chemicals -- they can interfere with testosterone and cause male reproductive abnormalities. (See Laura Wright Treadway's column, "Baby, You Gotta Have Balls.")
As a mother of two boys, no way am I putting my kids to sleep on PVC. My husband is in total agreement with me on this one. So is the state of California, which recently banned the use of phthalates in products intended for children under age 3.
Babies spend an awful lot of time in their cribs, so it was a pretty easy decision for me to avoid foam and PVC and look for a natural mattress. Natural materials like wool and cotton pass fire safety tests because they're inherently flame-resistant--they don't need to be chemically treated. I went the extra step and bought an organic wool and cotton mattress, so my purchase was good for the environment, too.
If the price tag of a natural fiber mattress scares you--they can cost $200 and higher (usually higher) -- you can always save by getting a second-hand crib. New wood furniture, including baby cribs, can release toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde. Older furniture has had some time to air out and releases fewer toxic gases. Check for safety recalls first, of course, but if you can get a free crib from someone you know, you'll save enough money to make up the difference and buy that natural fiber mattress. You'll all sleep better.
Image: Patty Arndt
