Sleep positioning pads look pretty comfortable. These big, soft foam bumpers are connected by a piece of material so that one pad rests on either side of a sleeping baby. The pads are marketed to improve a baby's sleep and help prevent SIDS by keeping infants on their backs during slumber. But a new report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that these sleep positioners can potentially be deadly.
According to CBS News, the CDC has linked sleep positioning pads with 13 infant deaths. Most of the infants were found lying on their stomachs with their faces near the foam pad. Some of the victims were born prematurely or had a history of respiratory problems, but others were perfectly healthy. All the infants were younger than four-months-old.
CDC researchers caution that the FDA has not approved any sleep positioners to reduce the risk of SIDS. A few infant sleep positioning systems have been FDA-approved for medical conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But these products require a prescription.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC both continue to warn parents about the risk of suffocation when using sleep positioning pads. To reduce the threat of SIDS and accidental suffocation, parents should lay babies on their backs to sleep and refrain from using pillows, heavy blankets, or other soft items in cribs.
I used sleep positioning pads with my second baby. It seemed like such a great product, especially for my little girl, who had horrible reflux and could only sleep about 30 minutes at a time. She'd roll all over the crib, obviously uncomfortable and unable to settle down. I saw the sleep positioning pads in the store and thought I'd hit the jackpot. Hooray, something to help my baby sleep better and stay safer! And the pads did seem to help her stay put and snooze longer.
But even without a CDC warning, a small part of my mommy sensibilities wondered if these pads were safe. One night I came into her room and found her tangled in the sleep positioning pads. That's the point I stopped using the pads — it just seemed too risky. Definitely should have gone with a prescription sleep positioning system, if I'd have known such a thing existed. I guess we were pretty lucky to escape more serious consequences from using the "over-the-counter" sleep pads.
Have you ever used sleep positioning pads? Were you nervous about the risks? Share your experience in the comments section below!
Photo credit: Consumer Product Safety Commission