According to a new study by The Journal of Pediatrics, in the last 7 years the number of infants who have died as a result of baby crib bumpers has tripled.
Baby crib bumper deaths have been on the radar for years with the American Academy of Pediatrics advising parents not use any type of baby bumper in their infant’s crib due to a “potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment.” Consumer Reports even included baby bumpers on their list of 13 Dangerous Baby Products to Avoid. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also advise against the use of crib bumpers.
The problem is that when consumers shop at baby stores they see a plethora of crib bumpers being marketed to them. They are often bundled with an entire bedding set for the use in infant cribs. A common assumption is that the baby bumpers will protect their child while they are in the crib, keeping them from bumping their heads or having their limbs fall between the rails. The fact is infants simply cannot generate enough force to cause themselves a serious head or bodily injury. Therefore, according to recent studies, the baby bumpers in the crib serve no real purpose and only increase the risk of infant death and serious injury.
Baby bumpers have been consistently marketed to parents even with the known risk of infant death or serious injury. Manufacturers have done little to address this issue and many consumer advocacy groups are calling for a complete ban of crib bumpers to save infant lives.
The Pulaski Kherkher PLLC encourages parents to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for infant sleep safety and remove crib bumpers from baby cribs to ensure the safest sleep environment possible for your child viqueb9.