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Car journeys over 30 minutes 'potential health risk' to newborns

Families Health Birth to Threes
New research puts into question the amount of time that babies can safely spend in car seats.

Manufucturers currently advise that babies are not left in car seats for longer than two hours at a time as it could do damage to their developing bodies.

However, scientists are now suggesting that the advice may need to be revised as there could be a risk of suffocation to newborn babies travelling in car seats for more than 30 minutes.

It comes after findings from a pilot study into the effect on 40 newborns of a vibrating car seat, which revealed an increase in the babies' heart and breathing rates when travelling in a rear-facing car seat for half-an-hour. They also found that in some cases, babies' blood oxygen levels fell.

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