SIDS: FDA warns against sleep positioners

Nancy Zielinski

September 29th, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, have issued warnings not to use infant sleep positioners due to the reported deaths of 12 babies due to suffocation. Most of the babies suffocated after rolling from the side to the stomach.
The most common types of sleep positioners feature bolsters attached to each side of a thin mat and wedges to elevate the baby's head. The sleep positioners are intended to keep a baby in a desired position while sleeping, and often used with infants under six months old.
The government agencies are warning consumers to stop using infant positioning products, and to never put pillows, sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under the baby or in the crib. To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants be placed to sleep in their backs on a firm surface free of soft objects, toys, and loose bedding.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising consumers to report any incident or injury from an infant sleep positioner by visiting their website at www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx or calling 800-638-2772.

Over a twelve year period, the state of Michigan has reduced the number of SIDS deaths by 80 percent. This reduction in infant mortality is credited, in part, to the Back-to-Sleep campaign and an increased recognition of unsafe sleep conditions. The Back-to-Sleep campaign was initiated in 1994 nationally with the collaboration of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, American Academy of Pediatrics, Association of SIDS and Infant Mortality Programs and SIDS Alliance. Michigan saw its first significant decline in SIDS death between 1992 and 1995, reflecting the positive impact of the message to change infant position.