Bumper Dangers
by Houston Family Magazine
By Amy Davis
The countdown is on. Only 8 weeks are separating me from Mommyhood. And it seems for every week I mark off my calendar, there are 3 items to add to my to-do list before baby’s arrival. Crib: Check. Baby registry: Check. Screen pediatricians: Check. But when I got to baby bedding, I hit a road block. What are the essentials? Most baby stores sell crib bedding as a set, with a skirt, comforter and bumper pad. And most new moms just buy it and put it all on the crib. I was about to do the same thing; Then I met Tami Vanderwilt.
“Unfortunately, I’m the one that bought that very pad for my daughter that ultimately took my grandson’s life,” Vanderwilt told me. Vanderwilt’s first grandson, Aiden, was just six months old when he died. His mother found him with his face pressed against the bumper pad in his crib, not breathing, when she went to wake him from his afternoon nap in February. Aiden’s autopsy report reads, “…the cause of death… is due to suffocation in a non-standard sleeping environment.” The word “non-standard” seems strange since almost every mom I know outfits her new infant’s crib with a bumper pad. But Aiden’s death wasn’t the first attributed to the popular pads.
In 2007, the Journal of Pediatrics published a study that showed from 1985 to 2005, crib bumpers were responsible for 27 infant deaths and 25 non-fatal injuries. The numbers come from databases maintained by the Consumer Product Safety Commission which, the article points out, doesn’t contain a complete list of all deaths because reports to the CPSC are voluntary.
“It made me both angry and very sad,” Vanderwilt said, after reading the report. “All I’m thinking is ‘Is 27 deaths not enough? What is the cut off? When do you decide that enough children have died to take action?”
I asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission the same questions. In a statement, a CPSC spokesman replied, “CPSC staff urges parents and caregivers to use caution with bumper pads and to consult with their pediatrician as to whether they should be used in a child’s crib.”
Until now, the CPSC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Juvenile Products Manufacturer’s Association have shared the same recommendations to parents: “If bumper pads are used, they should be thin, firm, well-secured, and not “pillow-like.”
AAP Dr. Rachel Moon admits parents may define “firm” or “pillow-like” differently. Because of that and a study of the latest numbers of deaths attributed to crib bumpers, the AAP is strengthening its stance against the pads.
“We prefer not to have any crib bumpers in the bed,” said Dr. Moon. “That way you don’t have to worry about the suffocation risk.”
The JPMA, a trade organization that represents the leading manufacturers of infant bedding in the United States, maintains that the numbers presented in the Journal of Pediatrics is incomplete and does not take into consideration other items in the cribs other than bumpers that may have caused the suffocation deaths.
Bumper Dangers
While suffocation is the primary cause of deaths attributed to bumpers, infants have also died from strangulation on the bumper ties designed to secure the pad to the crib slats. A newer concern among safe-sleep advocates is the risk of asphyxiation.
“One of the most important things that you can do is sleep your child in an oxygen-rich environment,” said Sara Bloom, inventor of the ventilated crib bumper system. When Bloom’s friend lost a baby to sudden infant death syndrome, the corporate lawyer quit her day job and put all of her energy into creating bedding that lowers the risk of SIDS.
Bloom explains how traditional crib bumpers hamper oxygen from flowing into the crib and exhaled carbon dioxide from flowing out of the crib.
“When a baby exhales carbon dioxide, it’s 50% heavier than air, so it won’t flow out of the crib,” Bloom said. “As soon as the pooling effect goes over the nose and mouth of an infant, they start re-breathing their own carbon dioxide and suffocate, without anything even being over their nose or their mouth.”
Many moms today are buying bumpers with an eye towards style rather than safety. “You get caught up in ‘I want our nursery to look like this and I want our nursery to look like that, and this goes so well together,” said safe-sleep advocate Uchenna Conley. “Okay, that’s fine. But when the baby goes to bed, take it off.”
Conley created the “Ujana Conley Foundation for SIDS,” named after her daughter who died of SIDS 11 years ago. While doctors don’t know exactly what causes SIDS, they do know there are certain factors that increase the risk, including secondhand smoke, placing your baby on his or her stomach to sleep and pillows and bumpers inside the crib.
“When you know that there are risk factors and you know that the incident rate lowers when you take these factors away, what do we do?” Conley asked.” “We don’t put them at a higher risk.”
No Need for Bumpers
Bumpers were created decades ago when the spacing between the slats on cribs were not regulated. The pads prevented babies from getting their heads or limbs stuck. Now federal regulations require manufacturers to leave no more than 2 3/8 inches between the crib slats, reducing the risk that a baby’s head, arms or legs will fit through the slats.
The study in The Journal of Pediatrics concluded that the use of bumpers prevents only minor injuries, but because bumpers can cause death, they should not be used.
While the AAP is expected to widely release its “no bumpers” policy in the next couple of months, Dr. Moon says it would be helpful if other child safety groups got on board. “If people are sending different messages, then parents can infer from that that maybe the message isn’t important because nobody can agree on the message.”
Bumper Alternatives
With more moms getting the message, manufacturers are creating bumpers that provide some padding and a pop of color to your nursery, without the dangers of traditional bumpers.
Bloom’s “Oliver B Ventilated Crib Bumper System” is a set of 20 pads that tie on to the slats of your baby’s crib, while still leaving openings, allowing the carbon dioxide to escape the crib and fresh oxygen to get in. You can find them at boutiques like Mint Baby in Uptown Park, Nest & Cot in Rice Village and online at www.oliverbco.com.
The “Wonder Bumper” is a set of pads that zip onto each slat of your crib individually, providing padding, but also air flow that traditional bumpers block. You can find them at Babies R Us, Target and www.gomamagodesigns.com.
