Sleep aid with position indicator along with method incorporating same

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/014,645, filed Jan. 15, 2008, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/013,382, filed Jan. 11, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/897,740, filed on Jan. 24, 2007, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

According to many medical experts, infants who sleep on their back or side have a reduced risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when compared to those who sleep on their stomachs. Starting in 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics began recommending that infants sleep on their back/side in an effort to reduce the incidence of SIDS. One of the theories being that small infants with little or no control of their heads may, while face down, smother themselves on their bedding. In an effort to reduce the risk of SIDS, various infant sleep aids, such as infant sleep positioners, have been developed. For example, the INFANT SUPPORT SYSTEM as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,176 B2, issued Apr. 12, 2005 to Houghteling, includes a cushion for supporting an infant and includes positioning support members for maintaining the infant in a safe sleeping position. In addition, the casing of the cushion includes breathable material to help prevent suffocation.

Since the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics that infants sleep lying on their back/side, infants are more often placed in a supine position for sleeping. An unanticipated effect of the supine sleeping position is an increase in the number of infants developing deformational or positional plagiocephaly. Positional plagiocephaly is characterized by a flat spot on the back or one side of the infant\'s head. Positional plagiocephaly is caused by the infant\'s head remaining in one position for too long or being repeatedly positioned in the same manner while sleeping. A newborn infant\'s skull is relatively deformable due to flexibility of the bone plates and non-fusion between adjacent bone plates. This flexibility allows the infant\'s skull to pass through the mother\'s pelvis during birth, but also allows the skull to deform if it remains in one place for too long. Experts now recommend that infants sleep on their back with their head positioned on one side or the other to prevent a flat or misshapen area in the back of their skull. However, if an infant spends too much time sleeping with his/her head positioned on the same side, plagiocephaly may occur on the side of the infant\'s head. If the weight of the infant\'s head is allowed to exert pressure on the same side of the infant\'s head for too long, the skull deformation may become permanent.

In an effort to reduce the instances of plagiocephaly while continuing to protect infants against the possibility of SIDS, some manufacturers have marketed infant positioners that encourage an infant\'s parents to place the infant on his/her back with a reminder to indicate which way to position the infant\'s head within the sleep positioner. Specifically, the INFANT SAFETY SYSTEM described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,281 B2, issued May 8, 2007 to Hahn, includes a concave back support and abdominal support for positioning an infant on its side. The position marker is attached to the infant positioner with Velcro and may be moved from side to side to indicate how to position the infant within the positioner. The position marker is intended to remind the parent to alternate the positioning of the infant to help ensure the infant does not spend too much time with his/her head on one side.

While current products appear helpful in reducing the instances of SIDS and plagiocephaly, there is still room for improvement in the areas of convenience and versatility for sleep aids in general, sleep position indicators in particular. Similarly, it is believed that the breathability features of infant sleep positioners can be enhanced to further reduce cases of sudden infant death. Accordingly, there is a need for a more versatile sleep position indicator that it is simpler to use, thereby encouraging its use.

The present invention provides, in one sense, a sleep aid for use as a reminder of how to orient an individual on a sleeping or resting surface, such as a pad, to help reduce instances of plagiocephaly. In another sense, the invention relates to a pad construction upon which an individual can rest or sleep, which pad construction greatly reduces, if not altogether eliminates, the chance of suffocation. The ordinarily skilled artisan will appreciate that each of these advantages can be realized individually or together in a common sleep aid.

While various terms may be used throughout the description to follow, each one of these terms should certainly not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, while the description to follow describes the various embodiments in the context of an infant either resting or asleep on a sleep aid, it should be appreciated that the teachings herein can be employed with any suitably sized and configured sleep aid for which an individual might benefit. Thus, the individual need not be an infant, but could be a patient or other physically handicapped individual whose resting or sleeping position needs to be closely monitored and adjusted from time to time. Furthermore, the term “sleep” as used herein should not be construed in a limiting sense to imply that the various embodiments can only be employed in circumstances where an individual needs to actually fall asleep, but rather more broadly contemplates any circumstance in which an individual might need to assume a reposed position or otherwise be positioned on a surface in a particular manner, wherein such environment might benefit from a position reminder system as discussed herein. Finally, where various device constructions are described for use with an infant to alleviate, if not eliminate, the risk of suffocation, other individuals could likewise benefit from the teachings herein. Infants, for example, are not physically developed to the extent that they have sufficient muscle control in the neck and other regions to move their head from side to side without assistance. The same could be true for individuals of any age having physical conditions which also require the assistance of caretakers. Then, such individuals could also benefit from the teachings herein.

In accordance with the above objectives, broadly provided is a sleep aid in the form of an infant sleep positioner, which comprises a cushion that includes an elongate pad of selected size and configuration. A sleep position indicator is movably disposed on the sleep aid. The sleep position indicator is movable between a first position which visually informs a first head position for the individual and a second position which visually informs a second head position for the individual. Preferred embodiments relate to an infant sleep aid for use in reducing a risk of plagiocephaly.

A casing preferably surrounds the pad and has a bottom panel for confronting the support surface and a top panel providing a support for the infant when placed thereon. This top panel has a head portion.

In one embodiment, an infant sleep positioner for supporting an infant upon a support surface, includes a cushion where the upper surface may be oriented at an acute angle with respect to the lower surface such that the upper surface is inclined relative to the support surface along a longitudinal axis extending between first and second end portions of the pad.

In this embodiment the sleep positioner also includes a sleep position indicator including a flap that is movably attached relative to the cushion between a first position to inform a first position of the infant with respect to the infant sleep positioner, and a second position to inform a second position of the infant with respect to the infant sleep positioner. The flap includes first indicia corresponding to a first body position of the infant, and a second side of the flap includes second indicia corresponding to a second body position of the infant. The indicia may include a depiction of an animal\'s head for respectively informing first and second head positions of the infant with respect to the infant sleep positioner.

The sleep positioner\'s pad extends along a longitudinal axis, and wherein the flap is movably disposed in opposite directions that are each parallel to the longitudinal axis. Alternatively, the pad extends along a longitudinal axis, and wherein the flap is movably disposed in opposite directions that are each transverse to the longitudinal axis. The sleep positioner may also include a casing that substantially surrounds the pad and supports the flap. The flap is attached to the casing and may project away from the casing.

In yet another embodiment the cushion includes a first downwardly sloping concave surface configured to support a back of an infant when placed against it, the concave surface having a slope within a range of 20 degrees to 85 degrees, inclusively. The cushion also includes a second upwardly sloping surface configured to support a stomach and/or chest of the infant. The first downwardly sloping concave surface and the second upwardly sloping surface are part of a continuous surface which does not contain any substantially flat portion therebetween. The cushion includes a pad defining the continuous surface and a casing that substantially surrounds the pad, and wherein the flap is attached to the casing. In this embodiment the pad is elongate to accommodate an infant when placed thereon in a reposed position such that the infant extends along a longitudinal axis of the pad, and wherein the flap is movably disposed in opposite directions that are each parallel to the longitudinal axis.

The sleep positioners may further comprise a positioning member or plurality of positioning members each of a selected size and configuration supported on the upper surface of the pad. The positioning members are releasably attached relative to the cushion.

Also contemplated is a method for reducing a risk of plagiocephaly in infants. According to the method, an elongate cushion and a sleep position indicator are provided. The sleep position indicator is placed in either a first or second position. The infant is placed in a reposed position on the support such that the infant\'s head is orientated in one of a first and second direction. The infant remains in this position for a selected interval of time, after which the sleep position indicator may be moved to the other position and the infant may be re-situated with his/her head orientated in the other direction.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: