Boston Child Brain Injury Blog

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) sponsors Baby Safety Month each year in September.  In setting aside a month to cover this topic, the goal this year is to ensure that parents understand the necessity of providing a safe place for their babies to sleep.

 JPMA reports that hundreds of infants die annually because they are put down to sleep in an unsuitable place that was not designed for them.  New products, such as cribs and toddler equipment, must be granted approval for infant use by federal regulators. 

If you don’t know the complete history of the secondhand crib you may have, either find out or buy new.  With cribs, ignorance is not bliss and can place your infant in harm’s way.

Babies and toddlers are safest in “a fully functional, properly assembled crib, cradle, bassinet, portable play yard, or toddler bed.” 

In addition to making sure that your baby is safe and sound in his crib, you should also pay attention to any recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC).  There was a crib recall this past week where one infant death and various injuries were reported. 

The CPSC warns parents against the use of drop side cribs as well, over concerns that an infant can become trapped between the opening of the drop side and the mattress itself.  Since the year 2000, there have been a total of 32 reported infant fatalities as a result of the defective drop side cribs causing strangulation, suffocation, and entrapment.

Cribs should not be used for more than 10 years because safety standards are updated on a constant basis and older, outdated cribs may pose concerning risks to your baby if the cribs do not meet current federal regulations.  According to the report, crib manufacturers are now barred from making drop side cribs due to the serious hazards they pose to infants.

As an extra help to parents and because the car is also where some infants and toddlers get some much needed shuteye, there was a news report out this month that highlighted the 21 safest booster seats for your toddler.  Also, check out our previous post on the proper way to install an infant car seat and take note in the guidelines listed that car seats expire after about six years.

While there is a whole laundry list of parents’ responsibilities when it comes to their kids–not to mention the laundry itself–there are precautions that parents can take to ensure that their little ones are safe.  Try to find the time to review your cribs and car seats that you use every day, so that your infants and toddlers are safe wherever they go.

The death of a 4-month-old baby girl from Royal Oak, Michigan has prompted the recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on their website.

The baby girl reportedly died in a Nap Nanny. The CPSC reports said that the baby was in her harness and she was found hanging over the side of the product, caught between the Nap Nanny and the crib bumper. 

Another baby also became entrapped when the Nap Nanny was used in a crib (contrary to the product instructions). In that incident, the CPSC reports that the infant fell over the side of the Nap Nanny, despite being harnessed in, and was caught between the baby recliner and the side of the crib, sustaining a cut to the forehead.

There have been more than 20 other reports of babies under 5 months hanging off or falling over the side of the recliners.

The problem with the product is that infants can partially fall or hang over the side of the Nap Nanny even if they are strapped in the harness. The risk of falling, entrappment and suffocation is greater if the Velcro straps, located inside the Nap Nanny cover are not properly attached to the “D”-rings located on the foam. Some of the Nap Nanny models, like the first generation model, were not even sold with “D”-rings. Consumers are advised to stop using Nap Nanny recliners without “D” rings.

The Nap Nanny baby recliners were made by Baby Matters LLC, of Berwyn, PA, and sold in baby and toy stores in the United States from January 2009 through July 2010. The recall was issued by both Baby Matters and the CPSC.

A 2-year-old Maine boy’s death by entrapment and strangulation has prompted the recall of about 20,000 units of the Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits by Tots in Mind Inc., of Salem, NH.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website, the boy, who died in December 2008, was found hanging with his neck entrapped between the playard frame and the metal base rod of the tent.

Since the child was able to pop off the clips that attach the tent to the top of the playard, the tent was partially tied by pieces of nylon rope and partially attached by clips. It is believed that the boy became entrapped while attempting to climb out of the playard.

There have also been 3 other incidents in which children were able to remove one or more clips and place their necks between the tent and the playard. Luckily, these children were not injured.

The faulty tents will be recalled nationwide in the US and in Canada, with the help of the CPSC and Health Canada (HC), as well as in cooperation with Tots in Mind Inc.

As you can see on the photo below, the dome-shaped mesh tent is designed to fit over playards.

Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the playards.

Almost every month this spring and summer has brough news of drop-side cribs recalls, the latest of which was announced yesterday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) and Pottery Barn Kids.

All Potery Barn Kids drop side cribs, regardless of model number or year are being voluntarily recalled due to a risk of suffocation, entrapment and fall hazards.

The recall of approximately 82,000  drop-side cribs was announced on the same day the CPSC made a big step toward the elimination of the controversial drop-side cribs. Namely, Associated Press reportedon July 14 about the CPSC-proposed new rules that would ban the manufacture, sale and resale of drop-side cribs.

The problem with these cribs is that their drop-sides can detach when their hardware breaks, creating a space into which a young child can crawl and become entrapped. Since babies’ heads are pretty big compared to their bodies, when sliding into the empty space, their bodies can pass, but their heads can become entrapped, leading to strangulation, suffocation, or falling out of the crib.

Parents should not attempt to fix drop-side cribs. Many incidents can occur due to incorrect assembly, as well as from age-related wear and tear. The best thing parents can do is simply stop using unsafe baby furniture like drop-side cribs and return them to the manufacturer.

So far, related to these specific drop-side cribs, the CPSC website says they have received 36 reports of Potery Barn Kids drop sides that have malfunctioned or detached, resulting in 7 minor injuries when children fell out of the cribs or got their legs caught between the mattress and the drop side. One of these children became entrapped at the head between the drop side and crib mattress, but fortunately was freed without injury.

Potery Barn Kids is a division of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. The recalled cribs were made in Canada, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Italy and were sold exclusively at www.potterybarnkids.com, the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, and at Pottery Barn Kids retail store throughout the US from Jan. ’99 through March ’10 for between $300 and $600.