The CPSC and the FDA came together yesterday to issue a warning
to parents and caregivers to stop using infant sleep positioners
immediately as two recent deaths underscore concerns about
suffocation. You may remember the recent recall of the Nap
Nanny. Well, now the CPSC is issuing a general warning with
regard to sleep positioners after reviewing reports of 12 known
infant deaths associated with the products which have occurred
over the past 13 years. Most of the infants suffocated after
rolling from a side to a stomach position. In addition to the 12
reported deaths, the CPSC has received dozens of reports of
infants who were placed on their backs or sides in sleep
positioners, only to be found later in potentially hazardous
positions within or next to the sleep positioners. The most
common types of sleep positioners are: - sleeping bolsters,
usually a flat or inclined mat with round or triangular cushions
on each side of a baby (see Figure 1) and - wedge-style
positioners, which elevate a baby’s head high