Crib Bumper Pads Are Dangerous

Crib Bumper Pads Are Dangerous

The risk for strangulation or death from bumper pads in cribs outweighs the uncertain benefit.

The Back to Sleep campaign has markedly reduced the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but the overall safety of infant sleep environments still doesn’t receive appropriate attention. Bumper pads are popular crib accessories purchased by caregivers for protective or aesthetic reasons. To examine the risks associated with bumper pads, investigators searched U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission databases for crib-related deaths and injuries in infants younger than 6 months.

From 1985 through 2005, 27 infant deaths by suffocation or strangulation were associated with bumper pads: 23 in cribs and 4 in padded bassinettes. Death-scene investigation attributed 11 deaths to the infant’s face pressed against a bumper pad, 13 deaths to the infant wedged between the bumper pad and another object, and 3 deaths to a bumper pad tie caught around the infant’s neck. From 2000 through 2004, 25 nonfatal crib-related injuries were reported (including closed head injuries, extremity fractures, contusions, abrasions, and strains). However, most reports did not specify whether bumper pads were in place at the time of injury.

Comment: This report likely represents an underestimate of crib-related deaths and injuries because reporting of such incidents is incomplete. The AAP Task Force on SIDS (Pediatrics 2005; 116:1245) recommends that bumper pads be "thin, firm, well-secured, and not pillow-like," but the authors’ review of retail bumper pads led them to suggest that even firm bumper pads may cause entrapment of an infant’s head and suffocation. They conclude that bumper pads should not be used in cribs. Pediatricians should let parents know the uncertain benefits and potential dangers of crib bumper pads.

— Cornelius W. Van Niel, MD

Published in Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine November 14, 2007

Citation(s):

Thach BT et al. Deaths and injuries attributed to infant crib bumper pads. J Pediatr 2007 Sep; 151:271.

Medline abstract (Free)

Moon RY. "And things that go bump in the night": Nothing to fear? J Pediatr 2007 Sep; 151:237.

Medline abstract (Free)

Your Remark:

Reader Remarks are intended to encourage lively discussion of clinical topics with your peers in the medical community. We ask that you keep your remarks to a reasonable length, and we reserve the right to withhold publication of remarks that do not meet this standard.

The editors of Journal Watch may respond to Reader Remarks, but we cannot promise to respond to a particular remark.

Remark subject:*

Your remark:*

Fields marked with an * are required.

Name as you'd like it to appear:
First & middle initial:*

Last:*

Email address (will not
be published):*

Professional specialty:*

Place of work (optional):

Submitting a comment indicates you have read and agreed to the remark guidelines and declare:*

No competing interests

Or, the following competing interests (for example, financial stakes or professional relationships):

PRIVACY: We will not use your email address, submitted for a comment, for any other purpose nor sell, rent, or share your e-mail address with any third parties. Please see our Privacy Policy.

CLEAR erases anything you've added in any part of the form. CONTINUE allows you to check your entire post (and edit it if necessary) before submitting.

To ensure that your Reader Remark is not formatted as one long paragraph, precede new paragraphs with either a blank line or an indentation.