Parents Ali and Derek Dodd received devastating news that their 11-week old baby, Shepard, died after the child minder left him to sleep in a car seat.
Police investigation confirmed that the baby was left to sleep in an unbuckled seat placed on the floor without supervision. Shepard lost consciousness and was not breathing when the child minder returned to check on him.
A campaign was then spearheaded by the couple through a Facebook page called Shepard's Watch. They are aiming to let people know of the dangers of letting babies sleep in car seats.
This was also a part of a study conducted in Oklahoma about child safety.
Most of child care providers follow rules and regulations when left with a baby to take care of. One of these is using only a cot or a Moses basket for babies to sleep in. But the couple wanted the rules to become clearer for parents who put the safety of their child first.
In an interview by the Manchester Evening News, Ali said, "We want to stress that our mission is not to put any more fear in parents about how to keep their children safe.
"Our mission is simply to educate them and make people aware of dangers that many of us really didn't know about before.
"When a car seat is properly used, as it is intended to be used, which is for travel purposes only, and if a baby is frequently and properly supervised while in them, then a car seat isn't a dangerous thing to use.
"Same goes for rockers, swings, slings, or any other rocking, travelling or sitting device."
Ali also added, "despite how many deaths are caused by unsafe sleep practices and how many new studies and factual information published about the dangers of using car seats and sitting devices for sleeping, we are still seeing a shocking number of folks out there saying how many doctors and pediatricians still actually encourage new parents to put their baby in car seats to sleep if they have acid reflux or other similar problems.
"They are misleading and putting lives in danger every time they promote unsafe sleep practices.
"The public has to be aware of these dangers and be proactive about avoiding them.
"The risk is just not worth it, and sometimes you just have to play it safe even if it's inconvenient.
"Our children's lives are so much more important than convenience.
"Why wouldn't parents want to take every single precaution they possibly could to keep their babies safe?
"Not to mention, parents also should feel confident that the child care providers that we trust to care for our babies are also doing everything they should be doing to keep them safe."
Positional asphyxia is believed to have caused the death of Shepard. This happens when the airway of the child closes when he/she slouches down since a baby is still not capable to tilting his/her head to grasp for air.
The Lullaby Trust supports the Dodds in letting parents know of the dangers when babies are left in car seats to sleep.
The research and information manager of Lullaby Trust, Lucy Lyus said, "Car seats are not recommended for long sleep periods, as an alternative for a cot or Moses basket.
"It is advised that babies spend no more than two hours in a car seat at a time, so try and break up long periods of travel, and don't let your baby sleep in a car seat when not travelling.
"Lie-flat car seat models are available, which are safe for babies to sleep in.
"It is also important to make sure babies don't get too hot in the car, so make sure to remove any thick layers or hats.
"In general, our advice is that the safest place for a baby to sleep is on their back in their own cot or Moses basket, on a firm, flat, waterproof mattress," Lyus added.
