CPSC Takes a Closer Look at Safety of Crib Bumpers

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for so many of the children’s product recalls that we read about constantly in the news, has recently reversed an earlier finding regarding the safety of crib bumpers and has decided to take a closer look at bumpers as a part of a wider regulatory crackdown on the hazards of baby sleep products, reports the New York Times. The agency’s change of heart comes as a result of consumer advocacy and news reports highlighting potential dangers, as well as findings published in 2007 by Dr. Bradley Thach, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, that linked 27 suffocation deaths from 1995-2005 to crib bumpers. 

Plus: Parenting.com Product Recall Finder

The investigation into the safety of crib bumpers comes on the heels of other recent baby sleep product regulations and recalls, including the CPSC and FDA’s warning against the use of infant sleep positioners in September, October’s warning about the strangulation danger posed by baby monitor cords placed in cribs and bassinets, and December’s new mandatory standards for cribs, including the ban on drop-side cribs.

Plus: More about the Ban on Drop-Side Cribs

Plus: The Safety Rules You Should Follow for Your Baby’s Sleep