Choosing a mattress for your baby’s Moses Basket, Pram, Crib, Cot or Cot Bed could be confusing with such a choice on the market, we have tried to help you through this maze with some guidelines
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Hypo-allergenic - basically means non- allergy producing, as long as you can wash the covers at 60°c it will stay in this state, and providing you can keep the body fluids from the core of the mattress.
The thicker the mattress the better!
Not true! In mattresses like most other things, quality is more important that quantity - we will discuss the foam quality later, don’t be fooled by claims of 13cm thick for extra comfort!
Waterproof Protection
It is vital with synthetic mattresses to avoid body fluids getting to the core of the mattress. There are different fabrics to choose from, best to choose one that is truly breathable as well as waterproof. (some claim they are breathable but they are not – they are tested buy putting a mirror on one side and a kettle with steam on the other and misting the mirror!) Use a fabric such as Futura which is breathable and waterproof or a quilty or coolmax or spacer fabric that is breathable but has a waterproof protective base or protective slider.
Micro Climate
This is a term used to explain what occurs when you use a spacer type fabric like “Maxi space”, Spacetec, CoolMax with quilting etc this will allow a much better airflow around the body, it will help reduce heat and sweating and afford better breathability.
CoolMax, Outlast, Thermsleep etc.
These are fabrics that wick away heat, these are specially-engineered polyester fibres. These fibres can be combined with quilting to enhance their properties and give a luxury feel. However natural fibres like cotton or better still bamboo will do this naturally.
British Standards
Every Mattress sold in the UK should conform to British Standards, BS7177, BS1877, these relate to quality of filling and flammability.
Mattresses can be divided in two main groups Synthetic or Natural
Synthetic Mattresses (makes up over 90% of the total sold in the UK )
Covers
- The have to perform several tasks,
breathability, waterproofing, comfort, prevent overheating, hygiene / cleaning
- Covers can be made up of different layers to perform these tasks, a cover could be made of a material which is thick enough to generate its own breathability (micro climate) and have a waterproof lining underneath to protect the core. It is important to prevent body fluids from getting to the mattress core and breeding bacteria and reacting with the synthetic products used.
- There is also a question over PVC as being carcinogenic. PVC and PU will not breathe and increases the risk of over-heating. If you have mattress covers that can be washed at 60°c then this temperature will kill most bacteria and dust mites. you do not need to wash fabrics like bamboo or microfibre at 60°c as bacteria cant live in them.
Waterproof Sliders
These are waterproof bands that go under the cover and around the mattress to protect the core of the mattress from urine , the reason why they do not cover the whole of the mattress is that they would restrict breathability.
Foam
Foam used in the UK has to be fire retardant that is the law it has to conform to BS 1877 and BS 7177.
FSID - The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) do not approve of this fire retardancy being achieved by using phosphates they prefer Melamine but it makes the foam weaker!
The only way to fulfill the needs of FSIDS and the UK Law is to use CMHR foam (Combustion Modified High Resilience).
The problem with using this foam is you have to use a much higher grade CMHR28 or more to try and prevent indenting. The heavier the grade of foam the more support and the less it will indent or dip and the better it will recover.
Some companies will use a higher grade CMHR foam somewhere between 33 - 50 in their better products but this will impact on the price. If they are using a higher grade they will always mention it in their features and benefits.
To throw a spanner in the works, all of Europe except us, use continental or RX foam, they believe their foam is safer and it is stronger not having Melamine in it to achieve fire retardancy.
There some amazing things that are now done with modeling foam, mostly on the continent, as they are not into springs like us Brit's (well they don't need springs as their foam is more durable). These mattresses will rival and in most cases surpass basic sprung core mattresses. This involves modeling the foam into different shapes and layers to increase durability, comfort, support and breathability.
Have a look at the clever design of the Surestart cot mattress (see the video) In order to achieve this modeling we have had to use the highest quality foam available and much increased manufacturing time, which makes these mattresses more expensive.
- Coir and Latex
These are natural products but they can used with synthetic components for example coir with springs and coir with fibre. Latex is expensive and generally only used with natural products
- Memory Foam
While this does feel soft and is used on adult mattresses it is not recommended for baby mattresses, Memory foam has more chemicals, creates more heat and also creates pooling ( areas were carbon dioxide gases can accumulate).
- Springs
Here we have three main types:-
Basic sprung unit, mini bonnel sprung unit and pocket springs. The springs support the layer of foam above them also removing a lot of the heat as they replace the area that was taken up by foam. Air will flow over and between the springs and give better air circulation than a solid foam mattress. The comfort is reflected in the price, mini bonnel more comfort than standard sprung unit and pocket sprung are lot more supportive and comfortable than mini-bonnel sprung units.
Natural /Organic Mattress (Approx 10% of the total mattresses sold in U. K. )
All Cot and cot-bed mattresses that are sold in the U. K. have to conform to strict British standards to ensure they are safe and non-toxic. Foam and ground breaking synthetic fabrics and metal springs are used extensively throughout millions of everyday products. These components may be able to offer better or the same durability, heat transference, breathability etc, but their benefits are created by technical innovations natural/organic mattress has these benefits inherently built in.
- Covers.
These are mostly cotton made of different density and weaves and if they want the term organic then the area where the cotton comes from has to be approved by an authority to say it is organic. These covers are not normally waterproof and that has been a concern with parents, the one drawback to a natural cover. Now some or these covers are made waterproof by using the minutest amount of treated fibre sandwiched in the middle of the cover, they are also washable at 60°c and are allowed to be called natural!
- Core
The core is normally made from coir which is very firm, either side of the coir is generally wool to give the coir a softer feel. The wool can be treated with various natural products like eucalyptus, lavender etc. to give it extra properties. Latex rubber being a natural product is also used and sometimes combined with coir - the firmness of the coir and the springiness of the latex.
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