Parents placing a blanket over baby's pram in hot weather 'put their children at risk'
'It gets extremely hot down in the pram, something like a thermos,' says Dr Svante Norgren
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Parents who place blankets or muslin over their baby's pram in hot weather are putting their child at risk of overheating, according to researchers in Sweden.
The act of covering the pram instead of reducing the pram's temperature actually creates "furnace-like heat" inside.
Dr Svante Norgren, a paediatrician at a children's hospital in Stocklholm,Sweden told Svenska Dagbladet: "It gets extremely hot down in the pram, something like a thermos.
"There is also bad circulation of the air and it is hard to see the baby with a cover over the pram."
The newspaper did its own testing on the effects of the sun on a pram's temperature, leaving it in the midday sun between 11:30am and 1pm.
Without a cover it reached a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, but when a thin cover was placed over the stroller for 30 minutes it soared to 34 degrees.
To understand how relatively intense this heat rise is, summer temperature in Sweden rarely reaches 30 degrees.
Health authorities in New South Wales, Australia, where temperature can rise above 40 degrees, advise parents: "An enclosed pram can get very hot; try to ensure that the air circulates around your baby by removing the back panel (if possible) or placing them in more open strollers."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments