Experts Are Warning Parents About The Dangers Of Inclined Infant Sleepers
December 13, 2018
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As an expectant mother (and parent), you want your child to have the best, safest baby equipment out there. We read countless books and reviews to determine what equipment we’ll need, and which brands are trusted. However, experts are now warning that certain products we would have otherwise trusted can actually be quite dangerous.
Parents and pediatricians alike are expressing their growing concern for inclined infant sleepers, like the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play. Earlier this year, a parent filed a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission after a six-month-old baby rolled out of a Rock n’ Play and died. And unfortunately, this wasn’t the only fatality. Since 2005, there have been more than 30 deaths and 700 injuries reported as a result of inclined infant sleepers.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the safest place for a baby to sleep is “on his or her back on a firm sleep surface such as a crib or bassinet with a tight-fitting sheet.” Doctors and pediatricians are warning that inclined infant sleepers are not safe, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission argues that they are safe, as long as parents follow the instructions and use them as directed.
“Because they’re sold, people assume that they’re safe and the fact is they’re not,” said Dr. Ben Hoffman, chairman of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention. Safety advocacy groups like Kids In Danger, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and the Consumers Union drafted a joint letter to the chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ann Marie Buerkle. “Using restraints in a sleep product, allowing inclines in sleep products that might allow rolling into unsafe positions, and other hazards present in current inclined sleep products should not be promoted by the CPSC,” they wrote.
Every parent does things differently, and it’s up to the parent to decide what baby equipment they will be using, and what equipment they will be avoiding. However, it’s important to acknowledge these growing concerns about inclined infant sleepers, as they are concerns for a reason.