Original title: Are there any hidden dangers in baby swimming neck rings?

Summer is coming, and the swimming pool is getting lively. In recent years, infant swimming has been favored by parents, and infant swimming neck rings are of various styles. But at the same time, people continue to question the safety of infant swimming neck rings.

Should infants swim? Is it dangerous to use infant swimming neck rings? The reporter conducted investigations in the United States, Hong Kong and other places, and interviewed experts in kinematics, child care and swimming coaches outside China.

Is the baby swimming neck ring safe?

[Survey] Some experts believe that it will hurt the baby's cervical spine, while others believe that it has little effect

Professor Zhao Shaofei of Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical College and Guangdong Provincial Women and Children's Health Hospital is the inventor of the Chinese international patent for neonatal swimming equipment. Zhao Shaofei introduced that he applied for a patent in 2001, and so far, there are no similar inventions and patents abroad.

Zhao Shaofei said that there is no need to worry about the safety of the baby's neck ring. "Even if the baby is standing still in the water, the neck needs to bear only a few taels of force on the neck ring. As long as the newborn's hands and feet move slightly, the reaction force of the water will exceed the force on the neck." He said that he has not received any reports of children spraining their necks.

Some experts support this view. Han Jinlun, a professor at the Department of Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that in theory, the use of a neck ring does have the possibility of causing danger, but it is only a theoretical possibility. As for whether the baby's neck will bear weight and cause discomfort, Han Jinlun said that there is no need to worry too much. In terms of the baby's body proportions, the head accounts for 1/4 of the entire body length. "In addition, the baby is subject to buoyancy in the water and does not stay in the water for a long time. Therefore, the use of a neck ring does not have a great impact on the cervical spine."

But many experts have raised doubts. Jian Weijie, chairman of the Hong Kong Whampoa Sports Association, said that there is no scientific verification of the safety performance of this swimming equipment so far, and it is not recommended for babies. Using a neck ring will put the weight of the body on the cervical spine, and the baby may also cause damage to the cervical spine during exercise.

Anita Sharma, head coach of the British Swimming Association in China, is not sure whether the neck ring is safe and reliable. But she believes that "wearing a neck ring may affect the child's breathing."

A clinical professor, pediatrician and internal medicine expert at Harvard Medical School who did not want to be named said in an interview that it is not recommended to let children swim in this way, fearing that the baby will choke on water after turning over. As for whether it will hurt the child's cervical spine, the expert said that this is not the main concern.

Jeffrey Weiss, a pediatrician in Phoenix, Arizona, a member and spokesman of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in an interview that he has not come into contact with baby neck rings and cannot give opinions on the pros and cons of using them.

"For children, even if there is a one in ten thousand risk, it should be taken seriously. I don't know how the statement that "the force that the baby's neck needs to bear on the collar is only a few ounces" was calculated." Zhang Silai, a famous pediatric expert, believes that if the collar is inflated too much, it will cause discomfort in the child's neck, restrict the movement of the cervical spine, and the child's lower jaw must be lifted up to use the collar; if it is not inflated enough, it cannot support the baby to float on the water. In addition, if the carotid sinus in the human neck is compressed, it may cause a drop in blood pressure and a slow heart rate, leading to cerebral ischemia and fainting. Children swimming with a collar may compress the carotid sinus.

Zhang Rongya, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, also said in her real-name verified Weibo that wearing a collar can easily hurt the baby's cervical spine; the collar is plastic, and clinically, babies are allergic to the collar or excessive friction of the collar causes dermatitis.

Are swimming collars used abroad?

[Investigation] Neck collars are rarely seen in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Hong Kong. They are usually armpit collars, buoyancy clothes, etc.

Some baby neck collar products in China claim that "the technology comes from Europe and the United States." Is this swimming method adopted abroad?

In Hong Kong, the reporter visited many department stores, baby product stores, and toy stores, but did not see any baby neck collars for sale. Finally, the neck collar was only found in a small daily grocery store on the street. The boss said that the neck collar was made in the mainland and there were few customers who bought it. Most parents chose armpit collars.

Why are baby swimming neck collars rare in large shopping malls in Hong Kong? Many salespeople said that they were worried that it was "somewhat dangerous." Ms. Yuan, a salesperson at a department store in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, said: "Few parents buy neck collars for their newborn babies."

In some large comprehensive supermarkets in the United States, the reporter did not find baby neck collars. Visiting the American infant toy and supplies chain store "Babies "Us", the store manager said that they have never sold such products. Seeing the photos of babies swimming with neck rings taken out by the reporter, the store manager was surprised, "This is the first time I see a baby swimming like this."

Some American neighbors told the reporter that it is common for Americans to put swimming vests on their children. They have never used neck rings and are worried that the children will feel uncomfortable.

Anita said, "Before coming to China, I had never heard of neck rings and had never seen them on the British market."

The reporter logged on to the Amazon Japan website to check and found that among the dozens of pages about swimming rings, there were 2-3 baby neck rings for sale, all of which were made in China and there was no sales record.

A staff member of a Chinese swimming product manufacturer revealed that the slogan of using "foreign technology" is not accurate, because "neck rings are generally not used abroad, and this publicity is to cater to people's trust in foreign technology."

Have the safety of neck rings been tested?

[Investigation] The inventor claimed that he had informally followed up, and the test report provided by the manufacturer did not involve the impact on human health

Zhao Shaofei said that he had informally followed up more than 10 groups of families who insisted on newborn swimming, and found that the children's physical fitness and development in all aspects were better than those of children of the same age. However, Zhao Shaofei also admitted that children over 12 months old can no longer swim with a neck ring because the children's movements are too large and unsafe.

Zhang Silai believes that more than 10 groups of cases are too few in terms of evidence-based medicine. There are individual differences in both the experimental group and the control group. The design is not rigorous and the conclusion is not scientific.

The reporter interviewed "Dr. Ma", a Chinese manufacturer of baby swimming neck rings. A product test report sent by a staff member of the company's product consulting department showed that the "Dr. Ma" baby swimming ring meets the requirements of the "National Toy Safety Technical Specifications" in terms of buoyancy, thickness, air chamber strength, and sealing performance.

Since the report only involves testing of materials and other aspects, the reporter asked whether the swimming neck ring had been tested on the impact of infant health. The staff member said that "Dr. Ma" had conducted clinical trials at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and Haidian Women and Children's Hospital, but the test results were not convenient to disclose for the protection of the subjects' privacy.

Zhang Silai believes that as a clinical trial, it should include the number of subjects, experimental data, experimental results, conclusions, etc., and does not require the specific privacy of the subjects, and there is nothing that cannot be disclosed.

Zhang Silai said that according to her understanding, there is currently no relevant follow-up research and long-term observation to prove that the neck ring is not dangerous and does not harm the cervical spine. Whether this way of swimming is harmful or not is not regulated by the management department.

In response to the safety of infant neck rings, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine replied that swimming rings applicable to children under 14 years old are water toys, and the current relevant standards are "National Toy Safety Technical Specifications" and "Inflatable Water Toy Safety Technical Requirements".

After checking, the reporter found that both standards are requirements for physical properties, materials and other aspects. For example, the National Technical Specifications for Toy Safety has set general requirements for mechanical and physical properties, combustion performance, migration of specific elements, labeling and instructions of toys, and the Technical Requirements for Safety of Inflatable Water Toys has set regulations on the physical properties, material thickness, mechanical properties, components, colors, and logos of inflatable water toy products.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China stated that the National Standards Committee had launched the "Safety Requirements for Baby Pool Sets" national standard planning project in 2010, formulating mandatory requirements including product appearance and size, product structure, material thickness, component connection strength and sealing performance, pool strength and stability, neck ring buoyancy, toxic and hazardous substance limits, instructions for use, etc., and standardizing its testing methods. The reporter searched the official website of the National Standards Committee and found no report on the project.

How can infants and young children swim more safely?

[Survey] Experts agree that "parent-child swimming" requires the assistance of professional coaches, and infants under 1 year old are not suitable for swimming

Infant swimming is also very popular in Hong Kong, but it is mainly parent-child swimming, allowing children aged six months to three years old to go into the water with their parents.

In Beijing, some swimming training institutions such as "Home Box" adopt the parent-child swimming method, but more institutions still use the neck ring method, such as "Dr. Ma", which not only produces neck rings but also opens a chain of swimming pools.

How can infants and young children swim more safely? The swimming coach of "Home Box" told reporters that professional swimming coaches are needed to assist. The coach will provide auxiliary tools according to the child's age, ability, etc., such as a floating board, which allows the baby to lie on his stomach.

For the baby neck ring swimming method, "Dr. Ma" recommends that the swimming time should be chosen after the baby has had enough sleep and breastfed for 40 minutes, check whether the swimming ring has air leakage, control the water temperature, and have a dedicated person to watch over the whole process to prevent water from entering the ears, nose and mouth.

"In fact, it's okay for babies to play in the water occasionally, but there's no need to let babies under one year old learn to swim, and young children shouldn't be immersed in water for a long time." Professor Han Jinlun pointed out.

Zhang Silai also agreed to take children swimming in a "parent-child tour" way, and older children can use armpit rings.

Some manufacturers have also noticed the potential dangers of baby neck rings. Shandong Yiqin Company is a manufacturer of swimming equipment, including baby neck rings. According to Wei Anlin, chairman of the company, they once produced 10,000 family-sized baby neck rings, but then received complaints from some parents that their children had difficulty breathing when using them. The company then recalled and destroyed the batch of neck rings. After that, the company found that family swimming neck rings can easily cause discomfort to infants and young children in terms of the tightness of the neck rings.

The American Academy of Pediatrics once recommended that children under the age of 4 should not learn to swim because their physical development is not suitable for swimming training. In May 2010, the society lowered the age suitable for swimming to 1 year old, and did not recommend that babies under 1 year old learn to swim.

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