While instances of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have dropped dramatically in the past 20 years, experts say that popular crib bumpers don’t contribute to that statistic.

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 (MedPage Today) — Breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) but bumper pads don’t, according to updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The recommendations — last revised in 2005 — go beyond SIDS and focus on providing a safe sleeping environment for infants to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths, such as suffocation.

Supine sleeping position, first recommended by the AAP in 1992, remains the cornerstone of SIDS prevention, along with a firm sleeping surface, and no bed sharing.

“Overall, we are making good progress in understanding SIDS and the importance of the infant’s environment in preventing suffocation deaths,” Rachel Moon, MD, who chaired the guideline writing committee, said during an AAP press briefing. “However, we still see evidence of unsafe sleeping practices, and we hoped to address those in these new guidelines.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The federal crib standards had not been updated in nearly 30 years and these new rules are expected to usher in a safer generation of cribs.

Once they become effective, the mandatory crib standards will: (1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; (2) make mattress supports stronger; (3) make crib hardware more durable; and (4) make safety testing more rigorous.

CPSC has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007. Detaching drop-side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective hardware. These new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safe in their cribs.

Effective June 2011, cribs manufactured, sold, or leased in the United States must comply with the new federal standards. Effective 24 months after the rule is published, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, must have compliant cribs in their facilities.

The full-size and non-full-size crib standards adopted the current ASTM International voluntary standards with additional technical modifications.

For more information on crib safety and safe sleep environments for baby, visit CPSC’s crib information center at: www.cpsc.gov/info/cribs/index.html

Links to the Federal Register Notices (all pdf):

• Safety Standards for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs; Final Rule
• Revocation of Requirements for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs
• Third Party Testing for Certain Children’s Products; Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs: Requirements for Accreditation of Third Party Conformity Assessment Bodies

JPMA has put together a fact sheet for the new federal crib standard and voluntary standards for full size cribs. The release info is below along with the Myth vs Fact PDF link. 

In light of the recent developments and revisions related to the voluntary standard (ASTM F1169-10) and anticipated mandatory rule for Full Size Cribs, JPMA has created a guidance document outlining myths and facts regarding compliance with these standards. The document also outlines implementation schedules and general requirements in the different standards. 

 For information related to: 

• Sell Through Dates
• Retroactivity of the Federal Law
• CPSC Lab Testing & Certification
• JPMA Certification Implementation Dates
• And more

 Visit http://www.jpma.org/pdfs/Crib_Compliance_Bulletin_and_Chart_11.17.10.pdf

Last week the CPSC and Child Safety Partners launched a new campaign on crib safety to help educated new and expectant parents about crib safety. You can read the release below:

NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) joined three child safety organizations at New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital to release “Safe Sleep for Babies,” a new crib safety video aimed at helping all new parents avoid suffocation, strangulation and entrapment risks in the sleep environment. CPSC also is announcing three new recalls of dangerous drop-side cribs.

CPSC is collaborating with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Keeping Babies Safe (KBS), New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and renowned journalist and mom Joan Lunden to educate new and expectant parents and caregivers on crib safety while they are at the hospital or visiting their pediatrician’s office. The video (transcript) demonstrates how to keep babies safe and sound in cribs, bassinets and play yards.

“Nurses will not allow newborn babies to leave the hospital without parents having a safe car seat. I also believe that we need to make sure that new parents provide a safe crib, bassinet or play yard for their babies to sleep in,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “By reaching new parents before they leave the hospital and again when they visit their pediatrician or health clinic, we hope to prevent deaths and ensure that all babies have a safe sleep.”

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Re-labeled Simplicity Cribs Contain Recalled Mattress Support Frames

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Sorelle brand “Prescott” fixed-sided cribs

Units: About 130

Retailer/Distributor: Albee Baby, of East Rutherford, N.J.

Manufacturer: Simplicity Inc. (firm is no longer in business)

Hazard: These cribs are re-labeled fixed-sided Simplicity cribs that contain tubular metal mattress-support frames recalled in April 2010. The mattress support frames can bend or detach, causing part of the mattress to drop, creating a space into which an infant or toddler can roll and become wedged, entrapped or fall out of the crib.

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Industry Launches New Initiative to Secure Drop Sides with Free Immobilization Devices

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), with the cooperation of seven firms, is announcing voluntary recalls of more than two million cribs to address drop-side hazards and other hazards that affect the safety of young children. The recalling firms are providing consumers with free repair kits to immobilize the drop sides or other remedies. Do not attempt to fix these cribs with homemade remedies.

The drop-side and fixed-side crib recalls announced today are of units manufactured between 2000 and 2009 by the companies listed below. Consumers should contact these firms directly for the appropriate remedy:

• Child Craft, (this firm is out of business): Fixed-Side | Drop-Side
• Delta Enterprise Corp., of New York, N.Y.
• Evenflo, of Miamisburg, Ohio
• Jardine Enterprises, of Taipei, Taiwan
• LaJobi, of Cranbury, N.J.
• Million Dollar Baby, of Montebello, Calif.
• Simmons Juvenile Products Inc. (SJP), of New London, Wis.

“Cribs should be the safest place in the home for infants and toddlers,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “CPSC is committed to addressing the hazards with cribs and to restoring parents’ confidence that their child will have a safe sleep.”

CPSC continues to actively investigate various cribs for potential drop-side and other hazards as part of a larger effort by the agency to rid the marketplace and homes of unsafe cribs. CPSC staff is also working on a new mandatory standard to make cribs safer, which is targeted for completion in 2010.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) has also launched a new crib safety initiative. The listed manufacturers are providing free drop-side crib immobilization kits to prevent the drop side from detaching, plus replacement hardware and assembly instructions for cribs manufactured by participating firms. These materials are available free to any consumer by request.

The firms involved in today’s recalls are providing immobilization devices or other remedies as part of JPMA’s crib safety initiative. Consumers can visit JPMA’s website, www.cribsafety.org, for a list of participating manufacturers and for downloadable materials about ensuring that children have a safe sleep.

The immobilization devices, which will be available in the next few weeks, should be attached to keep the drop side from detaching from the cribs. Immobilization devices are not a solution for cribs with broken or damaged drop-side hardware. If your drop-side hardware is broken, contact the manufacturer for an alternative remedy.

CPSC issued a warning last month alerting parents and caregivers that there can be deadly hazards associated with drop-side cribs. Nine million drop-side cribs have been recalled over the past five years. CPSC staff has determined drop-side cribs generally have a tendency to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides.

Drop-side crib incidents can also occur due to incorrect assembly or age-related wear and tear. Age is a factor in the safety of any crib. At a minimum, CPSC staff recommends that you not use a crib that is older than 10 years. Many older cribs do not meet current voluntary standards and can have numerous safety problems.

Important Message from CPSC:

The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib or bassinet depending on their age. If your crib has been recalled or it has missing, broken or loose parts, find an alternate safe sleep environment intended for a baby. If your baby is less than six months old and is not yet able to push up to his/her hands and knees, you can put your baby to sleep in a bassinet. Make sure your bassinet has not been recalled. Here’s a list. Also, you can use a play yard.

Do not put additional bedding such as pillows, thick quilts, comforters or anything plush into your baby’s sleeping space. More babies die every year from suffocation in plush sleeping environments than from defective cribs. Always place your baby on his or her back to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Visit CPSC’s Crib Information Center for more information on Crib Safety and Recalls.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of its commitment to ensure safe sleep for young children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is once again warning parents and caregivers about deadly hazards with drop-side cribs. In the last five years, CPSC has announced 11 recalls involving more than 7 million drop-side cribs due to suffocation and strangulation hazards created by the drop side. CPSC staff is actively investigating several other crib manufacturers for potential drop-side hazards as part of a larger effort by the agency to rid the marketplace and homes of unsafe cribs. CPSC will continue to take aggressive action to address any risks and will keep the public informed.

CPSC staff has completed a comprehensive review of crib-related infant fatalities reported to the agency between January 2000 and the present. CPSC staff is aware of 32 infant and toddler suffocation and strangulation deaths and hundreds of incidents that were caused by or related to drop-side detachments in cribs made by various manufacturers.

In addition to the 32 deaths the CPSC staff associated with the drop-side detachments, CPSC has received an additional 14 reports of infant fatalities due to entrapment in cribs that could be related to a drop side. The information obtained was insufficient for staff to conclusively determine whether or not the drop side was involved. Of the 32 deaths that were analyzed, some occurred in cribs where the drop side detached without caregivers noticing the detachment, while some other deaths occurred after a consumer tried to repair the detached drop side, but the repair ultimately failed.

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Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs

In case you didn’t hear about it on Monday, November 23rd, numerous local and national media outlets announced a pending crib recall in the coming days that was going to be very large. There were no specifics on who and how many, but it did involve an entrapment issue. Speculation was rampant and, like the kids game of telephone, estimates went from 500,000 to 5 million to all drop side cribs ever made. For this reason Goore’s waited to hear what company, or companies, are affected by the recall, how many cribs are involved and what the course of action was to fix them. Goore’s went ahead and pulled all drop side cribs from our floor and from our outlet as a precautionary measure pending the official release or concrete information to work from.

It turns out that it is only one company, Stork Craft Manufacturing and it was not 5 million cribs. This does not in any way discount the importance and magnitude of this recall. As a side note, Goore’s has never sold Stork Craft cribs but is deeply concerned about this issue.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Bonavita “Hudson” and Babi Italia “Pinehurst” Drop Side Cribs

Units: About 2,900

Importer: LaJobi Inc., of Cranbury, N.J.

Hazard: The lower spring pins on the footboard and headboard can pop out of the tracks located on the drop side causing the drop side to detach from the crib. When the drop side detaches, it creates a hazardous gap between the drop side and the crib mattress in which infants and toddlers can become entrapped and suffocate or fall from cribs.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC and LaJobi have received a total of 33 reports of drop side detachment due to spring pin failure. In these reports, two children became entrapped and one child fell from cribs. Both entrapped children were freed by caregivers, one child was bruised.

Description: The recalled cribs are wood with a metal mattress support and have drop sides and were sold in a variety of finishes including cherry, espresso, natural, and white. Hudson and Pinehurst drop side cribs with production dates from December 2006 through August 2007 are included in the recall. The recalled cribs have the production date, product order (PO) number, item number, and color printed on a label attached to the footboard or headboard.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Bonavita “Cabana” Drop Side Cribs

Units: About 2,000

Importer: LaJobi Inc., of Cranbury, N.J.

Hazard: The wooden crib slats can detach or break creating a gap, which can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants and toddlers.

Incidents/Injuries: LaJobi has received 16 incident reports of crib slat failures, including 10 reports of slats falling out of rails and 6 reports of slats breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Bonavita “Cabana” wooden drop side cribs with metal mattress supports. The cribs were manufactured from January 2006 through October 2008 and have production dates between 01 JAN 2006 and 31 OCT 2008. The model name, color, product order (PO) number, production date and other crib identifiers are printed on a label located on the inside bottom rail of the headboard or footboard. The cribs were sold in three finishes, antique white, classic cherry and montego brown. Cribs with other production dates are not affected by this recall.

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