New Report Reveals Soft Bedding as a Significant Threat to Safe Sleep
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released its annual Injuries and Deaths Associated with Nursery Products Among Children Younger Than Age Five report and with it a reminder to parents that ‘Bare is Best’ when it comes to their child’s sleep spaces.
The report shows that risks associated with nursery products remain high with an average of 174 nursery product-related deaths annually. Additionally, Black children are disproportionately impacted by nursery-product related deaths, making up 33 percent of all deaths (compared to 15 percent of the population).
The data reveals that a majority of these accidents occur in unsafe sleep environments, where soft bedding such as pillows, blankets and/or comforters have been placed in cribs, playpens or bassinets. Cribs/mattresses, bassinets/cradles, playpens/play yards, inclined infant sleep products, and infant carriers were associated with 76 percent of the fatalities reported from 2019 through 2021.
“Babies aren’t little adults. They don’t need pillows and blankets to feel comfortable and safe when they sleep,” CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said in a press release. “The safest way for your baby to sleep is without blankets, pillows, or other items surrounding them. A firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet, play yard or bedside sleeper with just a fitted sheet is all they need.”
The report also found that in 2023 alone, an estimated 60,400 children under five years old were treated at emergency departments with injuries associated with nursery products, most of which once again occured in cluttered sleep spaces. High chairs, cribs/mattresses, infant carriers and strollers/carriages were associated with 64 percent of the total estimated injuries in 2023.
The CPSC maintains that most nursery product-related deaths are preventable. Parents can keep their children happy and healthy by adhereing to the practices outlined in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Safe Sleep Guidelines and these simple four rules.
- Back to Sleep: Always place the baby to sleep on their back to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death syndrome (SUID/SIDS) and suffocation.
- Bare is Best: Always keep the baby’s sleep space bare (fitted sheet only) to prevent suffocation. Do not use pillows, padded crib bumpers, quilts or comforters.
- Transfer the baby to a firm, flat crib, bassinet, play yard or bedside sleeper if they fall asleep in a swing, bouncer, lounger or similar product.
- Inclined products—with an angle greater than 10 degrees—such as rockers, gliders, soothers and swings, should never be used for infant sleep, and infants should not be left in these products unsupervised, unrestrained, or with soft bedding material, due to the risk of suffocation.
If you want to ensure you are following safe baby sleep practices, check out our top 10 tips.
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