Chicago Bans Sale of Crib Bumpers

On Thursday, Chicago became the first city in the U.S. to ban the sale of crib bumper pads due to the SIDS risk they may pose. The passage of this law, which will go into effect in about seven months, stems from a report the Chicago Tribune published which stated the CPSC has failed to warn parents about the dangers of crib bumpers.

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A member of the council who passed the law was quoted in the Tribune saying, "If we were to wait for federal regulators, it probably would never get done." The Tribune reported that federal regulators haven't made a law yet because there's no scientific link between bumpers and suffocations, and that other soft items in cribs like pillows and blankets may be contributing factors.

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This ban comes in the wake of another study, which found that parents are still using soft bedding and bumpers with newborns, despite the SIDS risk it poses. Nancy Maruyama, of SIDS of Illinois, supports the ban because it aligns with the stance of safety advocates to remove all soft things from a baby's crib. Parents might continue buying soft bumpers in spite of the SIDS risk, Maruyama told the Tribune, because parents think that "if stores sell it, it must be safe."

Do you think this ban is (part of) the answer to preventing further SIDS deaths? Do you (or did you) use crib bumpers?