Urgent baby mattress product recall over suffocation fears

An urgent warning has been issued about a cot mattress over safety fears that it could fail to prevent a baby from suffocating.

Leading consumer website Which? has warned customers who bought the Baby Dunlopillo Safer Sleep Cot Bed Mattress, after it failed a number of stringent safety tests.

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The main issue is that the mattress may not be firm enough to prevent suffocation, should a baby sleeping on it roll over onto their stomach.

Mattress not firm enough

Between four and 12 weeks, babies begin to roll over in one direction while they are sleeping. This increases the risk of smothering if they are unable to right themselves.

Which? said that babies - especially those under six months old who are less able to roll back - could struggle to breathe if they roll over and their face sinks into the soft mattress.

In order to test the baby mattresses before they recommend them, Which? examines their firmness, according to British Safety Standards.

Baby may not be able to breathe if it rolls over

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The Dunlopillo mattress failed the test both when new, and after a few years of simulated use.

The consumer advisor also warned that the mattress failed shrinkage tests set by British Safety Standards. These tests are designed to check that, after it has been washed and refitted, the mattress cover still fits the mattress perfectly.

The Dunlopillo mattress’ failure means that the cover does not always fit properly and with minimal gaps after being washed. If this is the case, there is a risk of a baby’s limb becoming trapped.

Baby Dunlopillo told Which? that it takes safety in its products very seriously and that it has removed the product from sale while it carries out its own internal investigations.

This article originally appeared on our sister site The Yorkshire Evening Post