Limiting the risks of apnoea and bradycardia in low birth weight infants using car seats

Many car seats which state they are suitable for babies from birth to 10 kg are road safety tested for infants weighing 2.5 kg and above. Every year approximately 8000 low birth weight infants in the UK are discharged home from neonatal units, the discharge weight of many of these infants could be as little as 1.8 kg To compound this problem, recent literature has indicated that low birth weight babies being transported in car seats are at risk of suffering episodes of apnoea, bradycardia and oxygen desaturation. To help minimise these risks the authors have begun the process of implementing car seat saturation testing in their own unit, as well as informing a car seat manufacturer of the need to avoid respiratory instability in these vulnerable infants and to improve the baby's sitting position while in the car seat. This article was written to share the information gained during this process.