Parents Warned Against Use of Infant Sleep Positioners

US safety officials have advised parents to stop using infant sleep positioners, as they can be dangerous for babies.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Food and Drug Administration warned parents and child care providers to stop using the bolster pillows, saying they have received a dozen reports of infants between the ages of one and four months who died using the devices.

Most of the infants suffocated and died after rolling from a side-sleeping position onto their stomachs, but others suffocated after becoming trapped between the sleep positioner and the side of their bed.

In addition to the deaths, the CPSC has received dozens of reports of infants who were placed on their backs or sides in sleep positioners, only to be found later in potentially hazardous positions in or next to them.

The deaths and incidents involving sleep positioners happened over a period of 13 years, the two agencies said.

Maternal Smoking Can Put Babies At Increased Risk To Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Researchers say babies born to mothers who smoke are more likely to be slower to wake or respond to stimulation, and this might explain their raised risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

"We urge parents and caregivers to take our warning seriously and stop using these sleep positioners, so that children can have a safer sleep," CPSC chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said.

The two main types of infant sleep positioners are flat mats with side bolsters or wedge mats with side bolsters. They are supposed to keep an infant from rolling onto his or her back while sleeping, to avoid SIDS, which has been linked to stomach-sleeping.

Infant Formulas a Risk Factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Many epidemiologic studies (study of factors affecting health and illness) have linked use of infant formulas to increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The FDA said Wednesday that there is no evidence that the devices prevent SIDS and urged parents, health care professionals, and childcare providers to stop using them.

It also ordered manufacturers of infant sleep positioners with medical claims that have not been reviewed by the FDA to stop marketing those products, and asked manufacturers whose sleep positioners have been cleared by the FDA to submit clinical data showing that their products' benefits outweigh any risks.

Study Links Co-Sleeping to Sudden Infant Deaths
More than half of sudden infant deaths reviewed in a study released Wednesday occurred while the babies shared a bed or sofa with a parent.

Source-AFP