Experts share safe alternatives for sleep



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  • Millions of Boppy baby loungers were recalled this week after reports of infant deaths.
  • Experts say products marketed for “baby relaxation” are often used for sleep.
  • But a pediatrician told Insider that “it’s not worth the risk it poses to your baby.”

For many parents, the Boppy lounge chair is a beloved baby accessory. But this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of 3.3 million products sold by The Boppy Company after eight reports of suffocating babies were filed from December 2015 to June 2020.

A Consumer Reports investigation released earlier this month found more than two dozen infant deaths from 2012 to 2018 related to breastfeeding and baby pillows, some made by Boppy.

“People can get really attached to their Boppy, but the point is, it’s not worth the risk it poses to your baby,” said Dr. Ben Hoffman, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Injury Board. and violence. , and the prevention of poisons.

He applauded Boppy for coming forward with a voluntary reminder and “doing the right thing for the babies.”

These baby pillows are not designed for babies to sleep on

The recall notice states that Boppy’s products are marketed as lounge chairs and not as baby sleep products. But Hoffman said that when it comes to baby products, the way a product is marketed does not change the risk it poses to babies, and many dangerous products intended for relaxing babies are in fact. used for sleep.

“Even though recline sleepers have been taken off the market, they can still be sold as a ‘lounge chair’ if they are not specifically sold for sleeping. But that doesn’t change what babies are going to do,” he said. he said, adding that sharing cute but dangerous sleep practices on social media could normalize dangerous behavior.

“Lounge chairs have been marketed for many years as products that help babies sleep without ever being held responsible for infant deaths that occur there,” said Andrea De La Torre, Owner and Founder of Baby Sleep Answers . She said she worried about the normalization of dangerous sleeping situations on social media.

“Companies say it’s not meant to sleep on manufacturers’ labels, but the image they paint, what they’re trying to sell to you, is different,” she said.

De La Torre and Hoffman both said that while they understand the appeal of lounge chair products – everyone needs to put their baby down sometimes – caregivers should take safe sleep seriously. .

Caregivers need to make sure babies sleep safely

“A parent shouldn’t feel bad if they’ve used this type of device to help their child sleep, but they should definitely look at their child’s sleep patterns and make sure they are following all the rules. ‘safe sleep,’ said De La. said Torre.

Hoffman said babies should only sleep in products that meet CPSC standards for safe sleep. These products have a flat, hard surface – for example, packs’ n play, bassinet and, of course, cribs.

If you are using a product designed for lounging, your baby should be constantly monitored, as if they were in a bathtub, Hoffman said. If your baby falls asleep on a surface not designed for sleeping, such as a lounge chair or nursing pillow, you should move him to a firm, flat, bare sleeping surface.



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