Federal safety standards to be placed on items often mistakenly placed in cribs

Safety experts say babies need to sleep on flat and bare surfaces.

Gillian Neff and Rose Shannon

Oct 20, 2024, 3:02 PM

Updated 21 days ago

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For the first time, a new federal safety standard will be placed on pillows and cushions that are often mistakenly placed in a child's crib.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning people that comfy pillows and cushions do not belong inside a crib. Safety experts say babies need to sleep on flat and bare surfaces.
They say placing products in a child's dedicated sleep place can be dangerous and even deadly.
The commission has linked 79 infant deaths and 124 injuries between 2010 and 2022 to support cushions. The commission says most of the deaths involved a cushion being placed in a sleep setting.
"It's so important to make sure these products are only used while your baby is awake for tummy time activities and while the parent is aware, right there with the baby at all times," says Nikki Fleming, a communications specialist with the commission.
The goal of the mandatory standards is to reduce a child's risk of suffocation, entrapment and falls.
All products will now be required to have a strongly worded warning label. They will additionally have to undergo fitness testing and sidewall angle testing.
Their maximum incline angle can no longer be allowed to exceed 10 degrees.
Infant restraints will be prohibited under the standard because officials say they give parents and caregivers a false sense of safety for babies to be left unattended.