Dangers of Baby Sleep Products: New law bans those that have caused infant deaths

Several baby sleep products will be banned due to safety hazards. A new federal law will restrict the sale of two types of baby sleep products that were the cause of death of nearly 200 infants.

President Biden signed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act on Monday. The law will ban the producers and the retailers from selling two particular baby sleep products. These products are the inclined sleepers and the padded crib bumpers. Which are the two main culprits of infants’ death due to suffocation.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, they have a record of 97 inclined sleepers fatalities and 83 crib bumper-related deaths.

The new Safe Sleep for Babies Act will start effective in six months. Thus, giving the manufacturers and retailers enough time to pull out their products in the market and comply. Although some of the giant retailers like Walmart and Target have already stopped selling padded crib numbers a few years back.

However, there are still some online sites that sell these dangerous baby sleep products. Etsy still sells padded crib bumper options on their sites. Reporters asked for Etsy’s comment but they didn’t reply.

Kids in Danger group Executive Director Nancy Cowles said, “For decades, consumer, health, and parent groups have decried the sale of these dangerous products.”

“We thank the families and organizations who have worked so hard to keep children safe and look forward to the end of these deadly products on store shelves and in our nurseries.”

How does the Safe Sleep for Baby Act protect infants?

The new law will ban several inclined sleepers. Particularly those that are greater than 10 degrees which are aimed, designed and marketed as a sleeping surface for infants up to 1 year.

However, some of these padded sleep products are a major risk to infants who can roll over onto the padded areas and suffocate.

Baby products to avoid which are now under ban

• Baby products designed to prevent babies from hurting themselves on the sides of the crib
• Padded crib bumpers where babies can fit in between the slats
• Vinyl bumper guards
• Vertical crib slat covers
• Inclined sleepers

Moreover, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a safe and secure sleeping habits for babies:

Babies should sleep alone on their backs.
They should be in a position where their backs are laying flat on a firm surface.

Alternatives to hazardous baby sleep products

Although there’s already a law that bans certain baby sleeping products, there would still be grade sales or second-hand stores that might sell them. You can check the CPSC website to see a list of products they have recalled due to their safety hazards. Since these reliable but dangerous baby products will be out of the market, here are some alternatives you can use.

• Portable play yards
• Cribs
• Bassinets
• Safe, clean, and empty space

Meanwhile, several companies in connection with the CPSC have already pulled out their baby-inclined sleepers a few years ago. They recalled these products due to suffocation tendencies.

One of which is also the popular Fisher-Price’s Rock ’n Play sleeper. With over 4.7 million units sold in the market, Fisher-Price has to recall it ten years after.