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Mattress firmness test

This test determines if your mattress is firm enough to prevent re-breathing. If at all possible children especially under one year should sleep on certified baby sleep products, which makes this test unnecessary.

That said there are cases where being able to tell if a mattress is suitable for infant sleep can be useful. The most common case would be transitioning to a montessori bed, which require adult-size mattress.

Instructions on how to perform this tests can also be found here Infant sleep safety: testing for correct mattress firmness. on the Education Standards Board(ESB) of South Australia webpage.

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This methodology was submitted in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health“ in 2012 by Ronald L. Somers

According to the author, this substitute matches to a high degree the results produced by a specialized device used in “The German case-control scene investigation study on SIDS” by Schlaud M et al.
I can’t find the original Schlaud paper, but it is quoted in A firm recommendation measuring the softness of infant sleep surfaces by Sheena H. Gillani et al.

Schlaud et al. found that 27 of 41 (67%) scene investigation mattresses had > 14.5 mm indentation
...
a surface with an indentation of > 14.5 mm was significantly associated with risk of SIDS

In essence:

  • The surface area of the DVD paired with the weight of the milk cartons (2,325 g) simulate the weight distribution of a baby’s head.
  • The thickness of a DVD is 1.2 mm, a stack of 12 DVDs is 14.4mm in height. Which matches what was assessed as the maximum safe mattress indentation in the by Shlaud M paper.
  • Hence: If the 12 DVD stack fully sinks into the mattress it can be concluded that the mattress is too soft and should not be used for infant sleep.