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Infant Deaths in the Nursery Increasing

Toll from cribs, bassinets has risen in recent years

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 28, 2008

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More children have been killed and injured in cribs and other nursery products during the last few years than in previous years, according to a report released today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC estimates that 66,400 children were seriously injured in the nursery in 2006, the highest total since 2002 when the agency estimated 67,000. It is a major increase from 2005, when the figure was 59,800.

The average number of deaths from 2002-2004 jumped only one to 81, compared to 80 during the years 2001-2003. However, those are not final figures and the totals are likely to rise because of a lag in reporting infant deaths from coroners and hospitals.

In other words, the 2001-2003 report is mostly complete while the 2002-2004 figures are still preliminary.

Alan Korn, director of public policy at the nonprofit Safe Kids USA, said he is concerned with the numbers.

“Safe Kids is and has always been particularly concerned about the safety of cribs, playpens, bassinets and play yards because these are the only products that we can think of that either by design, by intent, by custom or practice, you leave your children unattended in them for long unsupervised periods of time,” Korn said. “So, if there is any environment on earth, or certainly in the home, that needs to be safe for child, it's those products.”

Record recalls

The report did not include any statistics for 2007, which saw the record recall of 1,040,000 Simplicity cribs and bassinets, blamed for killing at least four infants.

An investigation by The Chicago Tribune found Simplicity and the CPSC knew for more than two years the faulty hardware and improper installation could leave babies vulnerable to suffocating in the cribs.

“One of the things that concerned us with the Simplicity Crib recall was that there was a crib recall and within a handful of days, there was a bassinet recall,” Korn said.

“That tells me that you could've very well had people trying to do the right thing -- taking their kids out of cribs, putting them back in bassinets -- only to have the bassinet recalled within a handful of days. So parents are struggling finding a safe sleeping environment.”

Korn does not blame the CPSC but said the agency could do more.

“We believe that there should be extra special focus policing the marketplace for cribs, playpens, bassinets and play yards,” he said.

Parents to blame?

The Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association (JPMA), the nursery manufacturers' lobbying arm, places blame with parents in a statement released today.

“It is important to note that while nursery products were involved in these incidents, the incidents were not necessarily caused by the failure of the product,” according to the statement. “In many cases, injury or death were caused when the child was left unattended or caregivers misused the product or did not follow the manufacturer instructions or safety guidelines.

“JPMA believes that instead of alarming parents, we should work together to educate them about the importance of the proper use and installation of juvenile products,” the statement continued.

But Korn disagrees and says manufacturers could do much more to save infant lives.

“What's wrong with companies implementing what's called passive prevention? That means designing your products in a fashion in which they are durable and can stay safe over time and also don't have unintended design hazards in them,” Korn said.

“In today's day and age, we're supposed to have safer products on the marketplace, parents are supposed to be as educated as they've ever been and companies are certainly more aware now than they've ever been about CPSC regulations, voluntary regulations and design products,” Korn said. “I'm disappointed that the numbers aren't going down.”

What to do

According to a CPSC press release, the agency recommends:

• To reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation, place baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib that meets current safety standards

• To prevent suffocation never use a pillow as a mattress for baby to sleep on or to prop baby’s head or neck

• Infants can strangle if their bodies pass through gaps generated between loose components, broken slats and other parts of the crib and their head and neck become entrapped in the space. Do not use old, broken or modified cribs and be sure to regularly tighten hardware to keep sides firm.

• Infants can suffocate in spaces generated between the sides of the crib and an ill fitted mattress; never allow a gap larger than two fingers at any point between the sides of the crib and the mattress

• Never place a crib near a window with blind or curtain cords; infants can strangle on curtain or blind cords.

• Properly set up play yards according to manufacturers’ directions. Only use the mattress provided with the play yard. Do not add extra mattresses, pillows or cushions to the play yard, which can cause a suffocation hazard for infants.

• Routinely check nursery products against CPSC recall lists and remove recalled products from your home

• Sign-up for automatic e-mail recall notifications at www.cpsc.gov

Korn also suggested parents bring their own playpens for their children to sleep in at hotels.

“We've found that 25 percent of (hotel cribs) are recalled and the vast majority of them had some safety concern with them,” he said.

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