Crib bumper pads are a hot item in baby bedding. I’m finding more and more crib sets that have coordinating crib bumper pads. Lately, there have been reports of safety issues with infants and toddlers suffocating and becoming injured with crib bumper pads, once declared safe by the National Safety Council.

Many families use these bumper pads to keep their infants and toddlers safe. Instead, there have been 27 accidental deaths reported between 1985-2005. The problem occurs when an infant rests their head against the bumper pad or between the bumper pad and another object, becoming stuck.

The study was published in the September issue of the Journal of Pediatrics and states “Many infants lack the motor development needed to free themselves when they become wedged between the bumper pad and another surface,” Dr. Bradley Thach, professor of pediatrics and staff physician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said in a prepared statement. “They are likely to suffocate, because they are re-breathing expired air or their nose and mouth are compressed.”

Evidently both soft and hard bumper pads have been identified in the report. “If the pads are too soft, the baby’s nose or face can get pressed up against it, and the baby suffocates. If they are too firm, the baby can climb up on the pads and fall out of the crib,” Thach said.

For more information:  Crib Safety Alert