Parents issued major safety alert over 'deadly' product that 'suffocates' babies and young children
A common baby item has been put under an urgent government alert. Parents and carers are being advised not to use baby sleep pillows, which can cause serious harm or death to babies and infants.
Often animal shaped, baby sleep pillows or cushions are sold for babies to sleep on. However, the national Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a safety alert about them, and detailed the risks associated with their use, including suffocation and overheating, which could lead to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
The OPSS stated: “Baby Sleep Pillows can pose a risk of suffocation, overheating and death to babies. This Alert is for consumers (particularly parents and caregivers to babies), childcare and educational establishments, local authority trading standards and businesses to warn of the potential harm that baby sleep pillows can pose.”
Research has found that suffocation and overheating can lead to serious injury or death in babies under 12 months old. This can happen when an infant is placed on a baby sleep pillow unattended or for sleep and includes when the sleep pillow is put into a cot or crib.
The OPSS confirmed “Baby Sleep Pillows” have been linked to child fatalities in the UK and overseas, adding: “OPSS has significant concerns about ‘Baby Sleep Pillows’ marketed for babies under 12 months old.
“These products promote sleep or care practices that contravene NHS Safe Sleep guidance and can give rise to significant harm or death. Action is being taken to assess these products and to remove unsafe products from the market.
“The main harms are suffocation and overheating which can lead to serious injury or death in babies. These harms can occur when a baby is placed on the ’Baby Sleep Pillow’ unattended or for sleep including when the pillow is put into a cot or crib.”
“Baby Sleep Pillow” is a generic term used in this Product Safety Alert. However, other common names for these products include, but are not limited to:
Baby Anti-stress Cushion, Baby Comfort Cushion, Baby Cuddle Cushion, Baby Hug Pillow, Baby Pillow, Sleeping Pillow, Stuffed Pillow, Baby Sleep Cushion and Exhaust Pillow.
Dr Rory McGill, a public health consultant, said: “If a baby presses their mouth and nose against the soft and squishy materials these products tend to be made of, it can lead to suffocation.
“And if a sleeping baby’s head sinks into a pillow’s soft surface, heat can’t escape and they can overheat, which results in a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).”
He added: “The dangers are not inevitable, but even one baby harmed is one too many.”