Deaths Prompt Warning About Infant Sleep Positioners

For years, new parents have been advised about how to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): keep cribs free of quilts, comforters, pillows, and stuffed toys…and always place an infant on his or her back at night or during nap time.

Some companies have been selling “infant sleep positioners,” which they claim hold a baby in a safe sleeping position. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)www. and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning that consumers should not purchase any infant sleep positioners. At least 12 babies have died due to use of the positioners–the infants died when they rolled from their backs and suffocated on the pillowy positioners.

This seems to be a case of concerned parents being tricked by false claims into purchasing a dangerous product. A product marketed as helping to prevent SIDS shouldn’t be an actual cause of crib death.

What should parents do? First, stop using infant positioners immediately!

“We urge parents and caregivers to take our warning seriously and stop using these sleep positioners so children can be assured of a safe sleep,” says Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

FDA pediatric expert Susan Cummins, M.D., M.P.H, says parents and caregivers can create a safe sleep environment for babies if they leave the crib free of pillows, comforters, quilts, toys, and other items.

“The safest crib is a bare crib,” she says. “Always put your baby on his or her back to sleep. An easy way to remember this is to follow the ABC’s of safe sleep—Alone on the Back in a bare Crib.”

If you believe your baby was harmed by an infant sleep positioner and want to understand your legal options, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-800-4LAW-MED. You can also visit our website at https://www.lawmed.com. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

(To see the full FDA Consumer Update, click here: Infant Sleep Positioners Pose Suffocation Risk)