Ships from and sold by I Love Best Day Ever. Selection for all your Nursery Room needs; from changing tables to cribs, night lights, decor and more. Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams White Crib Mattress FREE Shipping. DetailsSummer Infant Contoured Changing Pad, White FREE Shipping on orders over . Serendipity TOXIN SHIELD is a crib mattress cover designed as an impermeable layer to prevent toxic gasses, allergens and other hazardous chemicals coming from your crib mattress from reaching your baby's sleep environment. What makes Serendipity different from other mattress covers? * Unlike typical mattress covers, the Serendipity cover blocks toxic gasses, hazardous chemicals, and allergens in your babies’ mattress. * The Serendipity Mattress Cover is made from an engineered pure polymer that contains no additives to leach into your babies sleeping environment. Vinyl and other types of plastic covers contain hazardous chemicals like fire retardants, plasticizers, Phthalates and biocides that can leach out of the cover creating a hazardous environment for your baby.
* Best Day Ever, the maker of the Serendipity Mattress Cover works with the non-profit No More SIDS Foundation to get mattresses covered at day care centers around the country. Best Day Ever donates one Serendipity Mattress Cover to No More SIDS Foundation for every cover it sells. No More SIDS estimates more than 700,000 mattresses covered without a single SIDS death reported. Product Dimensions74 x 26.5 x 6 inches Item model numberCrib Mattress, Size 1 Safety warningProper Mattress Cover Installation Protocol: 1. Make sure the mattress is clean and dry before installation. If necessary, clean with a mild soap and water. Do not use cleaners containing chemical bleaches or sterilizing agents. 2. Place cover on a flat surface with the instructions face up. Slide the mattress in the cover through the slit running the length of the cover. 3. Center the mattress in the cover. Peel off the adhesive strips at each end and carefully fold ends up to adhere them to the cover.
Keep the cover tight against the mattress. 4. Turn the mattress over and place in the crib. Make sure the printed side of the cover and the ventilation slit are face down. Choose Proper Bedding Materials: 1. Use a 100% cotton blanket on top of the covered mattress. 2. On top of the cotton blanket, place a 100% cotton fitted sheet and a 100% cotton over-blanket. 3. Do not use the following bedding items: Sheepskin or any product containing sheep fleece. Waterproof or moisture resistant mattress pads or protectors. Any blanket or other swaddling product containing acrylic or polyester. Sleeping bags, duvets, quilts, pillows or cushions. Material TypeLatex Free, Phthalate Free, BPA Free, Lead Free Care instructionsClean with damp cloth and dry. Do not use: detergent, bleach, chlorine or chemical cleaners. #16,258 in Baby (See top 100) in Baby > Bedding > Crib Bedding > Mattress Pads in Home & Kitchen > Bedding Shipping Weight8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Mitchell's marquee supplier told him that the chemicals in awnings and tents were the same chemicals that had been approved for use in baby mattresses. Mitchell also learned from Richardson that these same chemicals could be converted into nerve gas. Mitchell and Richardson decided maybe there was a connection here to SIDS. The research by Richardson began immediately. The three chemicals of concern are phosphorus used in the baby mattress cover, and arsenic and antimony added as preservatives and fire retardants. Richardson has determined that a common household fungus, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, gets established in the mattress from the baby's sweating, spitting up and so on. Once established, the fungus begins to consume these three chemicals in the mattress. This results in the production of three nerve gasses: phosphine, arsine and stibine, all of which can be very deadly, especially to infants. In late 1988 Richardson asked local coroners to cooperate by releasing mattresses on which SIDS babies had died.
He received 200 mattresses of all varieties: foam, plastic, fabric and netted. By June 1989 all mattresses had been tested with the following results: At this time, Richardson analyzed six blood samples of the SIDS babies who died on mattresses with antimony and found high levels of antimony in each sample. In addition, Richardson learned that 95 percent of mattresses tested had been used by a previous baby. Meanwhile, a New Zealand chemist, T.J. Sprott, was questioning the role of chemicals in the baby's environment. He learned of Richardson's research and concurred that nerve gas could also be poisoning babies in New Zealand. He established the guidelines for wrapping mattresses, known as the Cotlife 2000 Specifications. (For additional information, log on to www.cotlife2000.co.nz.) These specifications involved wrapping the baby's mattress with a gas impermeable plastic to keep the gasses from contaminating the sleeping area and, in addition, using cotton bedding. Since 1996, New Zealand has wrapped 100,000 baby mattresses to these specifications.
There have been no reported deaths to date on these wrapped mattresses. SIDS is called the "mystery disease." Understanding the gas theory explains away the mystery by answering all of the following perplexing questions: Q: Why do SIDS babies show no symptoms? A: The lethal dose of nerve gas doesn't make them "ill." It acts by shutting down the nervous system, stopping heart function and breathing. Research has shown neurochemical deficits in SIDS babies that are consistent with poisoning by nerve gas. Q: Why are babies at higher risk after illness or vaccination? A: The fever that results increases the temperature in the crib environment. This stimulates fungus activity and nerve gas production tenfold or more. Q: Why does the rate of crib death rise from one sibling to the next? A: In a reused mattress, fungus established in prior use cause toxic gas generation to commence sooner and in greater volume. Q: Why are babies at higher risk in families where births are close together?
A: Once again, the fungus in the mattress from the previous use will be quickly activated, producing gas sooner. Q: Why are SIDS rates higher in the winter? A: Windows are kept shut, creating poor ventilation around the crib. Gasses are less likely to dissipate. Babies are often bundled in blankets during the winter, trapping gasses close to their bodies. Q: Why are babies sleeping face down at higher risk? A: Stibine gas is formed from the interaction of the S. Brevicaulis fungus and the antimony in the mattress. This gas is very heavy and hangs right on the surface of the mattress. A baby sleeping face down will breathe this gas directly and is more likely to inhale a lethal dose. Q: Why are boy babies at higher risk for SIDS? A: Most boys have a higher metabolic rate than girls, thus their body temperature can be somewhat higher than girls. The rate of gas generation increases rapidly with increasing temperature. Q: Why does SIDS sometimes occur during bed-sharing on an adult mattress?
A: Phosphorus, arsenic or antimony can be found in most mattresses, allowing the generation of the nerve gasses. Adults are not as susceptible to gas poisoning as infants. Q: Why was SIDS rare before 1950? A: Prior to 1950, harmful chemicals were not added to mattresses. It was postwar technology that prompted the common use of phosphorus as a plasticizer, arsenic as a preservative and antimony as a fire retardant. In England and Wales the SIDS statistics from 1953 onward increased in parallel with the increasing concentration of antimony in mattress covers. In addition, prior to 1950 people commonly used soap for baby laundry, whereas now detergent and fabric softeners are commonplace. Detergent contains nitrogen and phosphorus compounds on which the fungus feeds. Q: Why does SIDS generally occur between the ages of 2 months and 1 year? A: It takes time for the fungus in the mattress to flourish and start generating gas. However, younger babies can die if they are sleeping on a mattress that has recently been used by an older sibling and has established, flourishing fungus.
As babies get older, the gas exposure gives them a headache causing them to move around, wake their parents and stand up in their crib. Q: Why is SIDS non-existent in some other countries? A: There used to be virtually no crib deaths in Japan. Japanese traditionally used untreated cotton futons for babies. Recently, Japan has started to adopt Western baby care practices, mattresses, etc., and the crib death rate has begun to rise. SIDS is practically non-existent in Russia, as well. There, it is common place to cover the mattress with rubber sheeting. This rubber is gas impermeable, inhibits fungal growth and is free of phosphorus, arsenic and antimony. Q: Why have SIDS rates fallen over the past five years, but are now leveling out? A: Five years ago the Back to Sleep campaign was introduced encouraging parents to position their babies on their backs. This has likely saved many babies from stibine (the gas from antimony) poisoning. As was said earlier, this gas is heavy and hangs right on the surface of the mattress where face-down babies breathe it directly.
However, babies sleeping on their backs are still exposed to the lighter nerve gasses: arsine and phosphine. In a warm environment phosphine can be similar to the density of air, and easily inhaled by a baby sleeping on its back. In addition, face-up sleeping is not as effective in a cot or bassinet with enclosed sides, because the gasses cannot flow away. To prevent these nerve gasses from reaching the baby, New Zealand CotLife2000 Specifications recommend doing all of the following: In addition, contact Sen. Tom Daschle by mail or e-mail: Tom_Daschle@Daschle.Senate.Gov. Send the letter below or write an original requesting legislation be sponsored prohibiting the use of these chemicals in baby mattresses. We can make a difference. Joanne Quinn is a registered medical assistant with a PhD in holistic nutrition. She is the Executive Director of the Educational Learning Strategies Foundation and field advisor for the National Foundation for Alternative Medicine. Editor's Note: Subsequent research has failed to establish the link between baby mattresses and SIDS that this article asserts.