Keep Cribs Bumper-Free
Decorative padding has been linked to strangulation and suffocation

(HealthDay News) -- They might brighten up the look of a crib, but experts warn that bumper pads don't belong in a baby's bed.

More than two dozen children have died from strangulation or suffocation in crib bumpers, according to a study published in Pediatrics .

"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," said Thach, who researches infant apnea and sudden infant death syndrome.

And, he said, it doesn't matter whether the bumpers are soft or firm. "If the pads are too soft, the baby's nose or face can get pressed up against it, and the baby suffocates," he said. "If they are too firm, the baby can climb up on the pads and fall out of the crib."

People caring for infants might think they're protecting babies from injuries that could occur if they roll into the side of the crib. But Thach's review of 10 years of data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that the opposite was true, and that crib bumpers actually pose a serious danger.

In the years covered by the review, 11 babies suffocated when their faces pushed up against a bumper pad. Another 13 infants died when they became stuck between the bumper pad and another object in the crib. Three babies died of strangulation involving a bumper tie.

"I don't think bumper pads are doing any good," Thach said. "Although the deaths and injuries may be rare events, they are preventable by eliminating the use of bumper pads."

This isn't the first time an initial instinct has proved wrong in infant care. For years, parents placed their babies to sleep on their stomachs, believing that this was the safest position because, if the baby spit up, the child wouldn't choke on his or her vomit.

However, once the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 1992 that parents place babies to sleep on their backs, the death rate from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), dropped 40 percent, according to the National SIDS/Infant Death Resource Center.

Other ways of protecting infants from crib death, according to the center, include:

• Keeping the baby away from secondhand smoke.
• Avoiding overheating. Babies should be dressed in about as much clothing as an adult would wear to remain at a comfortable temperature.
• Making sure that a baby sleeps only on a firm, tight-fitting mattress.

On the Web

Learn more about preventing SIDS by visiting the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development online.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; School of Medicine , Washington University in St. Louis , news release, October 2007; National SIDS/Infant Death Resource Center (www.sidscenter.org)
Author: Serena Gordon
Publication Date: Oct. 31, 2008
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