There are new safety guidelines for infant support pillows. Here’s what parents need to know

Baby cots and cushions are popular with parents as they offer a place for your little one to rest when you need two hands. But they can be dangerous if not used properly—bouncers have been linked to 124 injuries and 79 infant deaths since 2010. Now, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is adopting new safety standards to reduce the risk of injury to babies while using these items .

The new standards aim to reduce the risk of suffocation, entrapment and falls in infant support pillows, including infant head positioning pillows, anti-rollover pillows, crib pillows, wedge pillows, padded mats and multi-purpose pillows sold for both nursing and for lying down.

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“This is an important rule that creates safety standards for a set of products that – until now – have not been subject to comprehensive safety standards and have posed a choking hazard to infants,” said Nikki Fleming, spokeswoman for the CPSC.

What do the new standards say and what does it mean if you have a baby lounger at home? Here’s what parents need to know.

Key Takeaways

  • The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has released new guidelines for infant support pillows to reduce the risk of injury or death.
  • Infant support pillows were linked to 79 deaths and 124 injuries to infants between 2010 and 2022.
  • You can continue to use your existing bassinet, bassinet or mat with your baby – as long as you stay close to the baby during use and never use it for baby to sleep on.

What’s in the new baby lounger standards?

The new standards clearly state the criteria that all new infant support pillows must meet. Standards include:

  1. Strength testing on all parts of the product surface with which the baby can come into contact. The aim of this is to reduce suffocation from the pillow conforming to the baby’s face and obstructing the airway.

  2. Examination of the angle of the side wall requires that the angle formed between any side wall and the passenger surface be greater than 90 degrees. This solves the risk of suffocation and entrapment between the side wall and the support surface on which the baby would lie.

  3. Maximum tilt angle which cannot exceed 10 degrees to prevent “dangerous positioning” of the baby’s head and neck on the pillow. This limits the side height of the pillow to just under 2 inches, giving consumers a visual cue to place the pillow on the floor to prevent falls.

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  4. No limit for babies. This falsely suggests that a baby can be safely left unattended in the product, according to the CPSC.

  5. Strong product warning labels which are clear and permanent.

Why are safety standards changing?

The ruling follows a 2008 congressional directive for the CPSC to issue mandatory safety standards for all durable infant products. “While much of that work was completed in the years immediately following the legislation, the CPSC is continuing that work, including the recently finalized infant pillow rule and the infant pillow rule,” says Fleming.

Most of the injuries and deaths reported to the CPSC occurred in babies younger than 3 months. Most of the deaths involved the use of pillows in or on a sleeping product, including an adult bed or mattress, crib, crib, playpen, or on a couch, futon, or toddler bed.

“We hope the new federal safety standards will help prevent these tragedies,” he says Daniel Ganjian, MDpediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

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There’s also a lot of confusion among parents about how these products should be used, says Ansley Schulte, MD, pediatric medical director at KidsPeace. “Because many of these products are marketed as bassinets, they can lull parents into a false sense of security that the ‘support’ will safely hold their child, leading to unsafe practices such as letting babies sleep in them or placing them on elevated surfaces,” she says.

What does this mean if you already own a baby lounger?

The new standards do not technically apply to existing infant support cushions and baby loungers. However, the CPSC emphasizes the importance of using these products safely and keeping in mind that babies can roll over and roll out of baby support pillows without warning.

That means keeping these CPSC recommendations in mind when using infant support pillows:

  • Never use pillows to support infants for sleeping or napping. If the baby falls asleep, transfer it to the crib, playpen or bassinet.

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  • Stay close and watch your baby during use.

  • Use only pillows to support infants on the floor.

  • Do not use the pillow to support infants on beds, sofas or other raised surfaces.

  • Do not place infant support pillows on soft surfaces or in other infant sleep products, such as cribs or bassinets.

  • Keep blankets and other soft items out and away from infant support pillows.

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“My hope is that this will lead to fewer injuries and deaths and more awareness of the safest way to use these products in general,” says Schulte. “I also hope this will lead to a wider discussion about the importance of safe sleep and best practices for preventing injuries in infants.”

This story originally appeared on WhatToExpect.com.

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