USA Today reports, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Tuesday that parents stop using all bumper pads in cribs because of the risks to infants.” While the group previously only warned against “pillow-like” pads, AAP says there is “no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment.” However, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association opposes a ban on the products. Instead, “JPMA wants a voluntary standard to set a maximum thickness for traditional bumpers.” Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said that early in the year CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum “asked the commission’s staff to review its files and studies to take a ‘fresh look’ at crib bumpers.”
MedPage Today reports that the AAP recommendations, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, “go beyond [sudden infant death syndrome] SIDS and focus on providing a safe sleeping environment for infants to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths.” The group “also recommends avoidance of any commercial devices purported to prevent SIDS.” The guidelines say that “breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against” SIDS.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the guidelines recommend infants be offered pacifiers because their use has been shown to reduce SIDS risk. Another suggestion is having the baby sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, as the parents.
The “Shots” blog of NPR reports Rachel Moon, chairwoman of the AAP Task Force on SIDS, said that “the only thing that should be in the crib is the mattress with a tightly fitting sheet and the baby.” This story is also covered by the Los Angeles Times, the “Daily Dose” blog of the Boston Globe, WebMD, the website of CBS News, and Reuters.
From the American Association of Justice press release.
