Originally published in HealthDay News, published on Medline Plus
TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Infant deaths linked to crib bumpers have spiked in recent years in the United States, leading researchers to urge a ban on the padded bedding accessories.
Bumper-related crib deaths tripled from 2006 to 2012, compared with other seven-year stretches over the last quarter century, the study found.
“The risk for suffocation is real. The benefits are not,” said Dr. Bradley Thach, a professor emeritus of pediatrics with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“It’s a problem that’s been a matter of discussion for some time now,” Thach said. “The difference now is that with these findings we are trying to get the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to finally ban the use of bumpers altogether.”
The data shows they’re dangerous, Thach said. A baby’s face can get wedged against the bumper, or between the bumper and mattress, blocking the baby’s nose and mouth, he pointed out.
“The baby’s breathing can get completely blocked, or the baby ends up repeatedly breathing the same air in and out,” he said. “This continuous ‘re-breathing’ means that with every breath the air is increasingly depleted of oxygen, until eventually the baby suffocates.”
