A one-month-old baby died while swimming with a collar on. This article explains why doctors do not recommend collars for babies.

Real points:

Neck collars are not safe swimming gear, but pose serious safety risks. There is no high-quality scientific research to prove that swimming can promote early growth or intellectual development.

Verified by: Yang Qianqian | Pediatrician at Zhuozheng Medical

Recently, a news story about a baby who died after swimming became a hot topic on Weibo. According to media reports, the baby wore a neck ring while swimming at home. When he took off the ring, he found "marks" on his neck. Later, the child's father found something wrong when he got home. When he rushed the baby to the hospital, the best time for rescue had been missed. The child had already suffered multiple organ damage due to lack of oxygen and suffocation, and there was no way to save him.

This is not the first baby who has suffered an accident due to wearing a neck collar while swimming. While it is heartbreaking, we need to emphasize again that neck collars are not safe swimming protective gear, but rather pose serious safety hazards.

1. Why is it not recommended for babies to wear a collar when swimming?

Our neck is a traffic artery through which many "lifelines" pass. The blood vessels and trachea are relatively superficial and very easy to be compressed. The baby in the news showed poor reaction and stopped crying and moving after swimming. This may be due to the neck collar compressing the trachea and causing hypoxia and suffocation. In addition, the neck collar may also compress the pressure receptors of the carotid artery and cause syncope, or damage the cervical spine during exercise because it cannot support the relatively heavier head of the baby.

Not only collars, but in fact all kinds of flotation devices are not safe life-saving products. Such products can easily give parents a false sense of safety and make them neglect supervision of their children. In recent years, there have been many drowning incidents caused by collars or swimming rings tipping over and not being discovered in time.

2. It is not recommended for infants under 1 year old to participate in any water activities

Some people say that babies are born with the ability to swim, and that water exercises can stimulate children's potential and promote intellectual development. Is this true?

When a newborn baby's face is immersed in water, they will have a "diving reflex" of automatically holding their breath, slowing their heart rate, and contracting their peripheral blood vessels. After entering the water, they will also have a "swimming reflex" of stretching their body and dancing their hands and feet. However, these primitive reflexes are instinctive human defense mechanisms and generally disappear gradually 4-6 months after birth. They do not mean that babies are born to swim. Babies cannot control their trunk muscles well, keep their heads upright above the water, and their body temperature regulation mechanisms are not yet perfect. They can easily swallow pool water and cause "water poisoning." For the safety and health of children, it is not recommended for infants under 1 year old to participate in any infant water activities.

As for the issue of promoting intellectual development, although swimming can enhance muscle strength and cardiopulmonary function, there is no high-quality scientific research evidence to show that swimming can bring additional benefits to promote early development or intellectual development.

There are many hidden dangers in infant swimming, but there is no need to be afraid of water all the time and avoid it as much as possible. From the perspective of drowning prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children over the age of 4 participate in swimming training to master drowning prevention and self-rescue skills in water. For children aged 1-4, after a comprehensive assessment of the child's physical and psychological development, you can also consider taking swimming courses. Swimming courses should not only focus on teaching swimming skills, but also teach relevant knowledge including how to put on and take off life jackets, identify swimmers in danger, understand your own limitations and seek help in time, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, etc. It is recommended that parents also take first aid courses and regularly review their cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to ensure that they can use the right way to help their children in the event of an accident.

Editor of this article: yhxi