Unsafe Sleep Practices with Nursery Products Linked to 126 Infant Deaths Over Three Years

Summary: A new report from the CPSC reveals that unsafe sleep practices involving nursery products, such as cribs, bassinets, and play yards with added soft bedding, contributed to 126 infant deaths between 2019 and 2021. The report also highlights that nursery product-related injuries and deaths continue to persist among children under 5. Additionally, it emphasizes racial disparities in these fatalities, with African American children disproportionately affected.

Key Takeaways:

Unsafe sleep environments linked to hundreds of deaths: From 2019 to 2021, over 500 deaths were associated with nursery products, with 126 specifically linked to unsafe sleep environments.
Racial disparities in fatalities: African American children made up 33% of nursery product-related deaths, despite representing only 15% of the population.
CPSC reinforces safe sleep guidelines: The CPSC is urging stricter adherence to safe sleep practices, advising parents to avoid using soft bedding and only rely on federally-approved nursery products to prevent further fatalities.

A new report from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that injuries and deaths associated with nursery products persist among children younger than age 5.

The report shows that, on average, more than 170 infant deaths were associated with nursery products annually between 2019 and 2021. Unsafe sleeping environments—such as those that include soft bedding added to the cribs, playpens/play yards, or bassinets/cradles—accounted for 126 deaths during that three-year period.

CPSC’s latest data show that between 2019 and 2021:

There were 523 deaths reported among children younger than age five—an annual average of 174 deaths—associated with, but not necessarily caused by, nursery products.
Cribs/mattresses, bassinets/cradles, playpens/play yards, inclined infant sleep products, and infant carriers were associated with most (76%) of the fatalities reported from 2019 through 2021.

The report also highlighted racial disparities in nursery product-related deaths, including:

When focused solely on nursery product-related deaths with known race, on average, from 2019 through 2021, African American children made up 33% of deaths, more than double their 15% share in the population.

Call for Safe Sleep

During September’s Baby Safety Month, CPSC is urging parents and caregivers to put their babies to sleep only in products that are safe for sleep–such as bassinets, cribs, play yards, and bedside sleepers that meet federal standards with no soft bedding added, just a fitted sheet. Babies who fall asleep in other locations should be moved to a crib, bassinet, or play yard.

[RELATED: CPSC Warns Against Baby Loungers Linked to Five Infant Deaths]

“Babies aren’t little adults. They don’t need pillows and blankets to feel comfortable and safe when they sleep,” says CPSC chair Alex Hoehn-Saric in a release. “The safest way for your baby to sleep is without blankets, pillows, or other items surrounding them. A firm flat surface in a crib, bassinet, play yard, or bedside sleeper with just a fitted sheet is all they need.”

Safe Sleep Tips

CPSC is urging parents and caregivers to follow these safety steps to lay their babies down in a safe sleep place:

Always place the baby to sleep on their back to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death syndrome and suffocation.
Always keep the baby’s sleep space bare (fitted sheet only) to prevent suffocation. Do not use pillows, padded crib bumpers, quilts, or comforters.
Transfer the baby to a firm, flat crib, bassinet, play yard, or bedside sleeper if they fall asleep in a swing, bouncer, lounger, or similar product.
Inclined products—with an angle greater than 10 degrees—such as rockers, gliders, soothers, and swings should never be used for infant sleep, and infants should not be left in these products unsupervised, unrestrained, or with soft bedding material, due to the risk of suffocation.

The CPSC cautions to always check to see if any purchased baby nursery products have been recalled, which includes any secondhand products.