Safe Sleep and the Perfect Noggin

Is the Perfect Noggin safe for my baby to sleep on?

The short answer to this is – yes. The Perfect Noggin was designed to fulfil ALL requirements for Safe Sleep.
There is no body who will “certify” any product as being “safe”. This is likely to be because even a product which is deemed safe for its intended use, can be unsafe if used incorrectly. Instead, organisations such as the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Lullaby Trust make recommendations, which if followed comprise a safe sleep environment for a baby. The Perfect Noggin conforms to all of these fully:

FLAT

The meaning of “flat” in this context is “non-inclined”. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Centre for Disease Control (both US-based research groups) commissioned a study to evaluate the safety of inclined sleep surfaces and determined that an incline above 10 degrees was unsafe. This research is the basis for all infant sleep groups worldwide to recommend that babies sleep on flat (non-inclined) surfaces. The Perfect Noggin has a head to toe rise of only 3.6 degrees - far below the threshold considered unsafe. If a surface is firm (see below), there is no evidence to suggest that a contoured head cup is unsafe. In fact, the prototype for the Perfect Noggin (called the PlagioCradle) was the focus of five, high-quality peer-reviewed papers. A smaller version is still used in many NICU centres in the United States and its safety for use with premature infants has been specifically evaluated:

Rogers GF, Miller J, Mulliken JB. Comparison of a modifiable cranial cup versus repositioning and cervical stretching for the early correction of deformational posterior plagiocephaly. Plast Reconstr. Surg. 2008 Mar;121(3):941-7.

Seruya M, Oh AK, Sauerhammer TM, Taylor JH, Rogers GF. Correction of deformational plagiocephaly in early infancy using the plagiocradle orthotic. J Craniofac Surg. 2013 Mar;24(2):376-9.

DeGrazia M, Giambanco D, Hamn G, Ditzel A, Tucker L, Gauvreau K. Prevention of deformational plagiocephaly in hospitalized infants using a new orthotic device. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2015 Jan-Feb;44(1):28-41.

Knorr A, Gauvreau K, Porter CL, Serino E, DeGrazia M. Use of the Cranial Cup to Correct Positional Head Shape Deformities in Hospitalized Premature Infants. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2016 Jul-Aug;45(4):542-52.

Knorr A, Giambanco D, Staude MV, Germain M, Porter C, Serino E, Gauvreau K,DeGrazia M. Feasibility and Safety of the Preemie Orthotic Device to Manage Deformational Plagiocephaly in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants. Adv Neonatal Care. 2019 Jun;19(3):226-235.

FIRM

The Perfect Noggin is a very firm surface – in fact more firm than a Moses basket mattress. Were it not firm, it would be ineffective – this firmness is what allows the head to reshape. However, it is comfortable for babies. The baby’s body is fully supported from head to toe, in a neutral head-torso alignment. There is no aspect of the Perfect Noggin which is compressible; the baby does not “sink into” the mattress.

ON THEIR BACK

Back sleeping has been shown to reduce the incidence of SIDS. The Perfect Noggin in a dedicated sleep surface on which the baby lies on their backs. It can be placed in any Moses basket, cot or travel cot.

UNRESTRICTED

The Perfect Noggin is not a sleep positioner. It does not in any way restrict your baby’s ability to move, or turn their head. It was designed to work regardless of the presence of an active head turning preference – the head cup is contoured in all directions, meaning that even if a baby turns their head (due to unresolved torticollis), it will not contact any flat surfaces.
Your baby can sleep in the Perfect Noggin in a swaddle, sleep sack or growbag.

WATERPROOF

The layers of the Perfect Noggin are made of a material called IXPE. It is “closed cell”, meaning that it does not absorb fluid, making it waterproof. The base is solid plastic, hence also inherently waterproof.

NO SOFT OR LOOSE COMPONENTS

There are no loose or soft components to the Perfect Noggin. Every surface and component is firm. There is no possible way for a child to become entangled in any part of it.

CLEAR COT

Babies should sleep without pillow, duvets, bumpers, soft toys, loose clothing or wedges/straps which keep the baby in one position. The Perfect Noggin is none of these; it is the mattress on which the baby sleeps, it does not represent an “additional item” within the cot.

ALONE

The Perfect Noggin is a dedicated sleep surface on which a baby sleeps alone. It can be used for all naps as well as night sleep.

In addition, the neutral head-torso alignment created by the Perfect Noggin fully opens a baby’s airway. For this reason, we hear every day from Mums who say their baby sleeps brilliantly well in the Perfect Noggin.

The Perfect Noggin should only be used under supervision once the child is able to roll over. This milestone is reached by different babies at different ages, but will occur around the age of 5 or 6 months. Once they are able to roll, it is likely the baby will choose to sleep on his or her stomach, removing the forces contributing to head flattening, and the baby can resume sleeping on a standard flat mattress. From this point onwards, any existing flattening will not worsen and over the following years will become less and less obvious.

If you have questions about your baby’s head shape, the science around head flattening, or the use and fit of the Perfect Noggin, we would love to chat to you.