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The Back to Sleep campaign has markedly reduced the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but the overall safety of infant sleep environments still doesn’t receive appropriate attention. Bumper pads are popular crib accessories purchased by caregivers for protective or aesthetic reasons. To examine the risks associated with bumper pads, investigators searched U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission databases for crib-related deaths and injuries in infants younger than 6 months.
From 1985 through 2005, 27 infant deaths by suffocation or strangulation were associated with bumper pads: 23 in cribs and 4 in padded bassinettes. Death-scene investigation attributed 11 deaths to the infant’s face pressed against a bumper pad, 13 deaths …