Unsafe Sleep Items Pulled From Shelves as CPSC Safety Standard Takes Effect

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Safety Standard for Infant Sleep Products went into effect last week making it unlawful to sell non-compliant infant sleep products.

The new rule is intended to take unsafe sleep products off the market so parents don’t have to worry about buying items that could be dangerous to baby. The infant sleep products rule requires that any product marketed or intended for sleep must meet one or more of the federal safety standards for cribs, bassinets and cradles, play yards, or bedside sleepers. If the product does not already meet one of these regulations, then it must meet the safety standard for bassinets and cradles.

“As a parent, I know there is nothing more important than the safety of our children. I am pleased to announce this new safety standard will protect our most vulnerable population, babies,” said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric in a statement. “The new rule will support parents in making the safest possible choice for a product intended for babies’ sleep.”

The new safety standard is the latest in a stream of legislation aimed at decreasing infant sleep deaths. The Safe Sleep for Babies Act was signed into law on May 23 and bans the sale, manufacturing or distribution of inclined sleepers and crib bumpers for infants—two products that pediatricians and safety experts have warned against as unsafe.

“Pediatricians have long been advocating for safe sleep environments (ABCs-Alone, on their Back in a Crib), and it is time that these unsafe sleep products are taken off the market. The passage of this law [The Safe Sleep for Babies Act] is fantastic news and a long-awaited change,” pediatrician Dina DiMaggio Walters, MD, told The Bump.

But while some are celebrating the discontinuation of these dangerous products, others warn that the ban isn’t enough to stop infant sleep deaths. Alison Jacobson, CEO of First Candle, a nonprofit committed to ending sleep-related infant deaths through education and advocacy, believes that real change will come from parent education.

“It’s not necessarily the products. It’s human error. We need to be reality-based as well as evidence-based, when it comes to communicating with parents about safe sleep,” said Jacobson in an interview with CNN. The path to safe sleep will likely need to be a multi-pronged approach with important legislation working hand-in-hand with parent education through doctors, organizations, social media and friends.

If you’re looking for ways to ensure you’re following safe infant sleep practices, check out The Bump’s top 10 tips.