WASHINGTON, Sept. 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory standard to
improve the safety of nursing pillows and to protect babies from
injury and death. By a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Commission approved
a new rule that will address suffocation, entrapment and fall risks
associated with the use of nursing pillows. The new rule will go
into effect 180 days following publication in the Federal Register
and will require that all nursing pillows manufactured for sale
after the rule takes effect meet the new requirements.
CPSC is aware of 154 infant deaths and 64 injuries between 2010
and 2022 associated with nursing pillows, with most injuries and
deaths occurring among infants younger than 3-months old. The
majority of these deaths involved the nursing pillow being used in
or on a sleep product, including an adult bed or mattress, a crib,
a portable playpen, or on a couch, sofa or loveseat.
The new rule sets performance standards for nursing pillows that
are designed to ensure that these pillows remain helpful for
caregivers to breast and bottle-feed infants while reducing the
risk of injury and death. Specifically, the rule aims to maintain
feeding uses while preventing the following:
(1) suffocation from the product
conforming to an infant's face and obstructing the infant's
airways;
(2) entrapment posed when the product restricts an
infant's head movements;
(3) suffocation and
falls resulting from the presence of infant restraints that could
suggest that infants can safely be left unattended in the product;
and
(4) suffocation, entrapment, or falls
when an infant is left unattended in the product.
"Nursing pillows can be very useful for parents and caregivers
while feeding babies," said CPSC Chair Alex
Hoehn-Saric. "This rule will dramatically improve the safety
of these products going forward while preserving their
utility."
Under the rule, nursing pillows include any product intended,
marketed, or designed to position and support an infant close to a
caregiver's body while breast- or bottle feeding. These products
rest upon, wrap around, or are worn by a caregiver in a seated or
reclined position. Maternity pillows are excluded from this
standard as they are intended for use by expecting adults.
The ASTM Subcommittee on Feeding Supports recently approved a
voluntary standard that closely mirrors the Commission's rule.
To keep your baby safer while using nursing pillows:
- Only use nursing pillows for nursing/feeding a baby.
- Never use nursing pillows for infant sleep or lounging.
- Do not place nursing pillows in other infant sleep products,
such as cribs or bassinets, or anywhere a baby sleeps.
- Do not leave babies unattended in nursing pillows on beds,
sofas, or other elevated surfaces.
- If the baby falls asleep while nursing/feeding, or if you start
to feel like you might fall asleep, transfer the baby to a safe
sleep space.
CPSC reminds consumers that the safest place for a baby to sleep
is a flat, bare surface dedicated to the infant such as a crib,
bassinet or play yard. Visit CPSC's Safe Sleep Education Center for
additional safety resources to keep your baby safe.
For more information on Section 104 of the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the Danny Keysar Child Product
Safety Notification Act), which requires the Commission to issue
consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler
products, click here.
Commissioner Statements:
Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric
Commissioner Richard Trumka
Commissioner Mary Boyle
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with
protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death
associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products.
Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related
incidents cost the nation more than $1
trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of
consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of
injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50
years.
Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject
to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in
consultation with the CPSC.
For lifesaving information:
- Visit CPSC.gov.
- Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts.
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram
@USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC.
- Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on
www.SaferProducts.gov.
- Call CPSC's
Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054).
-
Contact a media specialist.
Release Number: 24-364
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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission