Does anyone have an actual medical source for not running with an infant?

[swissair81]

I have a friend's friend who does it with her newborn. I said something, and she kind of blew me off. "There's no reason why not" and all that.

[PZMommy]

It can cause shaken baby syndrome. They say not to run until the baby is at least 6 to 8 months and has good neck and head control. I think the American academy of Pediatrics may say something about this. I know the jogging stroller manuals all say not to, so if she read her manual, it would say so in there.

[Liziz]

All I know is that I read somewhere to put an uncovered cup of water in a jogging stroller and run around the block with it...then realize that's your baby's brain. I don't know if it's an accurate analogy or not, but that's the only thing I picture now! That all being said, unless your friend asked for the research, it's probably not going to be warmly received or paid attention to, either....

[meggswife]

At the top of the stroller forum, there is a stickied FAQ that has some links about jogging with babies. Maybe one (or more) would help?

[TwinFoxes]

Let me just say I wouldn't feel comfortable jogging with a newborn. BUT, looking at some very reputable sites (CDC, NIH, etc) they all specifically say jogging can NOT cause shake baby syndrome.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000004.htm
http://dontshake.org/sbs.php?topNavID=3&subNavID=24

I looked for medical sites, the only places I saw that said don't jog were blogs, or sites like a about.com or Livestrong.

[abh5e8]

wow...the second site says "jogging with baby in a backpack" can NOT cause shaken baby syndrome. i'm sure the stroller is a much smoother ride then a back pack! (although i would still not jog with baby until at least a year)

[mikala]

wow...the second site says "jogging with baby in a backpack" can NOT cause shaken baby syndrome. i'm sure the stroller is a much smoother ride then a back pack! (although i would still not jog with baby until at least a year)

Couldn't a stroller be even worse? It's smooth most of the time when you're jogging on a flat surface but any large cracks or curb cuts could cause a lot of stroller bounce if you're jogging fast. I think of it like going over a pothole while driving.

All that said while I didn't jog with an infant a close friend did. Her rationale was that she timed her pace and her jog about the same speed as she walked prebaby. I had a hard time arguing with that logic.

[pb&j]

Like the NIH says, jogging doesn't cause shaken baby syndrome. IME, running with a jogging stroller with air tires and suspension is a much smoother ride than walking with a Maclaren.

The bigger problem is if people are jogging with the infant carseat on a jogging stroller - most jogging strollers that I know of prohibit that b/c it raises the center of gravity and makes the stroller more prone to tipping.

As for the uncovered cup of water test, have you tried that in a car? Yeah, it no worky there either, but I don't think anyone thinks that driving will cause shaken baby syndrome.