Top 6 Most Dangerous Things in your Nursery

Your baby’s nursery is a pretty safe place — the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that about 100 children age 5 and under die in incidents associated with (but not necessarily caused by) nursery products. That’s a relatively minor number when compared to the 1,600 children aged under 15 who die in road crashes yearly, or the 350 children under 5 who drown each year in swimming pools, but an indescribable tragedy to the 100 families who lose someone right in their own home in a place they thought of as safe.

Some accidents, of course, are utterly unpredictable. But the CPSC has found that 6 types of products are the most dangerous — cribs/mattresses, bassinets/cradles, playpens/play yards, infant carriers, baby baths/bathinettes/bath seats, and baby bouncers were together responsible for 88 percent of fatalities reported. Here’s what goes wrong, and how you can keep your child safe.

Cribs and mattresses

What happens: Responsible for approximately 36 deaths each year, cribs and mattresses are most dangerous when cluttered. Extra bedding, pillows, blankets, crib bumpers, and comforters can lead to infant asphyxiation. Faulty cribs — with missing, broken, or nonfunctional parts, substandard repairs, or that aren’t put together correctly — are responsible for about 10 percent of deaths. These cribs are often older, secondhand, reassembled, and recalled. Hazards around the crib were the next most common cause of deaths: cords/strings that strangled children, plastic bags that suffocated them, extra cushions and mattresses that wedged children next to the crib frame.

How to keep your child safe: If you plan to use a secondhand crib, check BabyCenter’s Recall Finder to make sure the model wasn’t recalled, and make sure the crib meets all safety standards. Put your baby to sleep in a crib with a snug-fitting mattress (any gap should be smaller than two fingers) with a firm, tight, fitted sheet and no extra bedding, pillows, or toys. Keep the crib away from windows and draperies, and make sure there are no cords within 3 feet of the crib, including any cords on your baby monitor.

Bassinets and cradles

What happens: There were 59 deaths reported in bassinets/cradles between 2011 and 2013, most connected to extra bedding, with children suffocated most frequently by pillows. Less frequently, bassinets fell apart or children were killed by hazards around the bassinet.

How to keep your child safe: As with a crib, use bassinets and cradles that have snug-fitting mattresses, and don’t put any extra bedding in them: no pillows, no teddy bears. Only use bassinets and cradles that comply with safe-sleep recommendations and are sold for sleep. Avoid rocking bassinets, or supervise your infant while using them, and if you have a pet or siblings who might disturb the bassinet/cradle or your baby in it, pick a crib instead. 

Play yards and playpens

What happens: These products, which are also sometimes called “travel cribs,” or “portable cribs,” were responsible for 47 deaths between 2011 and 2013. As with bassinets and cribs, the usual culprit is extra bedding, with infants suffocating on blankets, pillows, or other soft objects in the play yard. Other deaths resulted from ill-fitting mattresses, improvised covers, and faults with the play yards themselves: side rails that collapse, or don’t latch.

How to keep your child safe: Leave all extra bedding and pillows out of the play yard. If your play yard has a mattress, make sure it’s tight-fitting (gaps should be less than the width of two fingers), and has a snug fitted sheet. Discontinue play yard use when your child reaches the weight/height/development limits, or when your child can climb out. Give your play yard a good shake before putting your child inside, to make sure everything is properly locked. 

Infant carriers

What happens: This product group, which includes soft carriers and infant car seats uses as carriers, was associated with 24 deaths between 2011 to 2013. Generally these deaths have to do with placing the infant in a dangerous way in the carrier or the carrier left in an unsafe place with the infant inside. For example, infants may be carried improperly next to a parent’s body leading to suffocation, or a car seat may be left in a place where it tips over.

How to keep your child safe: Don’t let infants sleep in infant car seats when not in the car, even while strapped in, and never leave your baby in a car seat anywhere he can tip over, especially on a counter or other raised surface. When wearing your baby in a sling or wrap, check on him often. Make sure he’s not in a chin-to-chest position with his face pressed up against the fabric or you. Make sure you can see your baby’s face or eyes in the sling and that your baby can see you. Unless you’re nursing her, your baby’s face should be visible at or above the rim of your sling or wrap. 

Bath baths, bath seats, and bathinettes

What happens: Between 2011 and 2013 there were 13 deaths of children connected with these products, all when a parent/caregiver’s attention was diverted from the infant. Generally, the caregiver left the child unattended in the tub, sometimes with an older sibling, and the infant slipped out of the bath seat, tipped forward or sideways into the water, or fell out of the baby bath tub.

How to keep your child safe: Never, ever leave your child unattended in the bath, not for any reason. If you’re called away, wrap your baby in a towel and take her with you. Baby tubs should only be filled with 2-4 inches of water, and you should discontinue using them when your baby reaches the manufacturer’s stated height/weight/development limits. 

Bouncer seats

What happens: Like baby baths, these products were associated with 13 deaths between 2011 and 2013. Generally these deaths occurred when babies fell from the seat, or when bouncer seats tipped over on soft surfaces.

How to keep your child safe: Never place your bouncer on a table or other elevated surface while your baby is in it. The same goes for soft surfaces, like a couch or bed, where a baby’s typical movements could tip the bouncer over, or make it fall off the edge. 

SOURCE: babycenter

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