Hazards of Conventional Crib Mattresses

While you're shopping for natural baby care products, it may be easy to overlook one very important part: the mattress. But because baby spends almost half her little life in bed (if you're lucky, right parents?), you want it to be safe and, of course, chemical-free.

The culprits in the crib. There are chemicals like you wouldn't believe in the conventional mattress.

• PVC: You already don't trust it for toys or bibs: why would you want it so close to baby's skin? The PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in mattresses contains or is treated with phthalates and flame-retardant chemicals (PDBEs, or, if you prefer: polybrominated diphenyl ethers).
• Phthalates: Yikes! Prenatal exposure to this chemical has been linked to the under-virilization of boys, testicular cancer, and it has been classified by the EPA as a "probable human carcinogen."
  
• PDBEs: because these do not adhere to the plastics they protect, they can easily leach from furniture and mattresses. PDBEs, at their highest household levels, are now comparable to levels linked to lower sperm counts and damaged ovaries in animal tests.
• Polyurethane foam: leaches toxic chemicals over time. A polyurethane-based mattresses can off-gas toxic VOCs, including toluenes inhalants. These can, in the least, affect allergies, and at worst, cause upper respiratory problems and skin irritations.

So your mind is made up, is it? Follow Europe's lead and ban these chemicals, at least in your home. Start with baby's bed and go for all natural or organic.