Categories: Parenting

Are Bumper Pads Safe in Your Baby’s Crib?

There’s growing concern recently about baby bed bumper pads and the danger they may pause to the health of young babies. The danger is that infants may get their head lodged in the space between the baby crib bumper pad and the mattress and not be able to extract themselves. Before a baby turns nine months of age, it could be particularly dangerous since they haven’t developed the head and neck coordination necessary to manipulate themselves out of tight situations safely. Despite the apparent dangers, bumper pads are found in the majority of infant cribs in the United States.

A recent analysis of the dangers of baby bed bumper pads was carried out and published in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. This analysis involved a search of U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission databases extending from 1985 to 2005 for infant deaths related to cribs and bumper pads. The results turned up twenty three cases of infant deaths related to crib bumper pads. The investigators felt that the actual number of deaths was higher since reporting of this type of event is often inconsistent. The causes of death included infants lodging their head between the bumper and another surface, the infant’s faced pressing against the bumper, and strangulation by the bumper wrapping around the child’s neck.

These results are concerning since baby crib bumper pads are so ubiquitous. In addition, they serve the useful purpose of protecting a baby’s head from the hard surface of the crib slats. If baby bed bumper pads are to be used in a crib, it’s important to follow certain guidelines to reduce the potential danger to your infant. Bumper pads should be firm, not soft and floppy like a pillow. A baby crib bumper pad should be selected that’s thin and fits snuggly along the entire inside of the crib with no space for baby to lodge his head. There are also new mesh bumper pads available that allow the free flow of air through the crib. Some experts are even recommending against the use of baby bed bumper pads altogether to reduce the risk of suffocation or strangulation. Cribs are now designed so that the slats are close enough together that the risk of a baby lodging his head between is almost nonexistent which makes the role of a baby bed bumper pads less important.