Here are what some mothers from this community says about memory foam versus the safety of allowing babies to sleep in it:

I like the memory foam too, but I’d be very concerned about a young baby in there (like under a year or so.) The thing that worries me is how much the foam conforms to the body contours–I’d be concerned that if a baby rolled over on its tummy or even maybe too far over sideways, that it’s head (the heaviest part of the body) would sink in and the foam would conform to the face and the baby wouldn’t yet have the head and neck and body strength to get itself out of that position. So I would think that it would be a suffocation risk. Heck, I find it hard to roll around on those things sometimes in the mattress store, because you sink in so much and it’s so squishy.

In terms of safetly, what I worry most about is all the flame retardant chemicals put on standard mattresses these days. With studies showing that PBDEs are showing up in breastmilk in high concentrations, I think chemical-free beds are well worth the added expense. You spend upwards of 10 hours a day in bed, do you want one seeped in toxic chemicals? Some studies also point to SIDS being linked to the chemicals in mattresses.

re: worries about the foam contouring to a baby’s head or face…The foam is very squishy but the mattress comes with a washable/waterproof cover that prevents the foam from being ultra squishy. I think in the stores they don’t have the covers on the mattresses- so you can really feel the actual visco-elastic material. It is much more firm with the cover on it.

As far as the fear of it over-conforming to the baby, there is a really simple solution. Tempurpedic tells you not to use any sort of mattress pad other than the one that comes with the mattress, as it will interfere with teh conformability of the mattress.

So, if you just put some mattress-pad like material under the area(s) where the baby sleeps, it will not conform as much and will feel more like a firm mattress. This will also protect the mattress against any diaper leakage, which is bound to happen at some point.

For our new baby, I am thinking of getting a sheepskin, and placing it under the baby on the bed.. That will alleviate some of my outgassing fears by taking the baby out of contact with the foam and also will provide leak control.

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