The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, issued a warning yesterday about sleep positioners, urging parents and caregivers to stop using them right away.
As a mom of two kids under five, I know how popular these positioners are. Many parents have tried them thinking that they’re a good way to prevent little babies from rolling onto their bellies where they might suffocate.
The devices usually feature bolsters attached to each side of a thin mat. Some are also part of a wedge meant to elevate the baby’s head.
The problem with the positioners is that if a baby does roll onto their belly using one of these, they might not be able to roll back. As well, with the positioners attached to a wedge, babies can move up the wedge as they sleep and end up with their heads hanging over the high edge of the positioners, cutting off their ability to breathe.
The FDA and the CPSC says there have been at least 12 deaths in the last 13 years associated with the positioners. Most of the babies suffocated after rolling from the side to the stomach.
The CPSC has also received dozens of reports of babies who were placed on their back or side in the positioners only to be found later in hazardous positions within or next to the product.
“We urge parents and caregivers to take our warning seriously and stop using these sleep positioners so children can be assured of a safe sleep,” says Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
They note once a baby rolls over onto his or her tummy, it’s okay to leave them there. Babies who can flip over can also turn their heads, a key developmental milestone that reduces the risk of suffocation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants up to a year old be placed to sleep on their backs in a crib with absolutely no other objects inside, including stuffed toys, blankets, quilts or pillows. Here's the Canadian Pediatric Society's tips on safe sleep. And here's their advice on preventing flat heads.
NEVER put pillows, sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under the baby or in the crib
ALWAYS place a baby on his or her back at night and during nap time.
“The safest crib is a bare crib,” says FDA pediatric expert Dr. Susan Cummins. “Always put your baby on his or her back to sleep. An easy way to remember this is to follow the ABC’s of safe sleep—Alone on the Back in a bare Crib.”
The CPSC and FDA note that some manufacturers of sleep positioners have advertised that their products prevent SIDS, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)—in which stomach acids back up into the esophagus—or flat head syndrome, a deformation caused by pressure on one part of the skull.
The FDA says that although in the past, it has approved a number of these products for GERD or flat head syndrome, new information suggests the positioners pose a risk of suffocation.
So now, it’s asking makers of FDA-cleared sleep positioners to submit data showing the products’ benefits outweigh the risks.
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