The Safe Sleep for Babies Act, a new law passed last month banning two dangerous infant sleep products, has brought long-sought relief to many parents.
“I’m grateful to our lawmakers for helping us protect babies when the manufacturers won’t,” said Sara Thompson’s 15-week-old son Alexander died while in a Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper back in 2011.
The popular children’s product was on the market for a decade before it was finally recalled in 2019 after a Consumer Reports investigation revealed dozens of deaths tied to the Rock n’ Play and other infant inclined sleepers.
The reason: The design of the products–specifically their incline–makes them inherently dangerous for infant sleep.
And finally, last month, President Joe Biden signed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act into law -- which officially bans inclined sleepers and crib bumper pads, both of which are unsafe for infant sleep and together have been linked with close to 200 reported deaths.
CONSUMER REPORTS: Safe Sleep for Babies Act
“This legislation is an absolutely critical step to help parents and caregivers keep their babies out of unsafe sleep environments. People should be able to trust that if infant sleep products are for sale, they’re safe,” said Consumer Reports Safety Advocate Oriene Shin.
Still, there are products marketed for sleep that are not covered by the act and don’t conform to pediatricians’ recommendations for how babies should be put to bed. These products include infant hammocks and in-bed sleepers.
Later this year, a strong federal rule covering infant sleep products goes into effect, but until that happens, Consumer Reports is urging parents to stop using anything that does not follow best safe sleep practices.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says babies should sleep alone on their backs on a firm, flat surface without any soft objects or loose bedding. And they should sleep in a product covered by federal standards, such as cribs, play yards, and bassinets.
“There is no place on store shelves or online for infant products that fail to align with expert safe sleep guidelines,” said Shin.
“I know that Alexander is looking down from heaven and happy that we’ve worked so hard to prevent any more infant deaths in inclined sleepers,” said Thompson.