Safe Sleep for Babies: New Video Aims at Educating Parents on Crib Safety

The Scoop

Confused by all the crib recalls of the past year? A new crib safety video released October 22, 2010, by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may be able to help. Called "Safe Sleep for Babies," the video is designed to educate new parents on how to avoid dangerous suffocation and entrapment risks in a Baby's sleep environment, where to go for important crib recall information, and how to keep Baby safe and sound in cribs, bassinets, and play yards.

Made in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Keeping Babies Safe (KBS), New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, and narrated by journalist and mom Joan Lunden, the video will be available to parents while they are at the hospital or visiting their pediatrician's office.

"Nurses will not allow newborn babies to leave the hospital without parents having a safe car seat. I also believe that we need to make sure that new parents provide a safe crib, bassinet, or play yard for their babies to sleep in," says CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "By reaching new parents before they leave the hospital and again when they visit their pediatrician or health clinic, we hope to prevent deaths and ensure that all babies have a safe sleep."

To view "Safe Sleep for Babies" online, visit www.keepingbabiessafe.org.

For Baby

Key tips to keeping your baby safe? According to the video, parents and caregivers should always:

• Place infants to sleep on their backs
• Use a firm, tight-fitting mattress
• Never use extra padding, blankets, or pillows under Baby
• Remove pillows or thick comforters
• Do not use positioning devices—they are not necessary and can be deadly
• Regularly check cribs for loose, missing, or broken parts or slats
• Do not try to fix a broken crib
• Place cribs or playpens away from windows and window covering cords to avoid fall and strangulation hazards
• Place Baby monitor cords away from cribs or playpens to avoid strangulation

CPSC is aware of about 30 crib deaths and hundreds of injuries. Cribs are a leading cause of nursery product-related deaths. About one-third of the deaths result from structural failures of the crib from loose, missing, or detached hardware. The majority of deaths in cribs are attributed to the presence of extra bedding in the crib, such as pillows and comforters.