Every 8 minutes, a baby is injured using a nursery product

Carriers, cribs, strollers are the chief culprits

More than 66,000 children younger than 3 go to the emergency room annually for accidents involving nursery products, a new study shows. That’s about one every eight minutes.

A Nationwide Children’s Hospital study published in the journal Pediatrics Monday looked at emergency room visits over 21 years, January 1991 through December 2011. Research showed nursery- product- related injuries increased nearly 25% within the last eight years of the study.

In 80% of the injury cases, the baby fell out of the product. For the purposes of the study, “nursery products” encompassed a host of baby products, including baby walkers, bouncers and changing tables. Most common injuries occurred with baby carriers ( 20%), cribs/ mattresses ( 19%) and strollers ( 17%). Eighty- one percent of the injuries were to the head, face or neck.

Tracy Mehan, researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, told USA TODAY the purpose of the study wasn’t to point a finger at parents but at manufacturers.

“If the products had a different design that made them easier to use, there would be less injury,” Mehan says.

The study’s lead author and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Gary Smith, had worked on a 2001 American Academy of Pediatrics position statement outlining design flaws of baby walkers. Manufactures responded by widening baby walkers and changing wheels to make it more difficult for children to roll down the stairs. Mehan says she hopes the new study inspires similar change.

In the meantime, there are ways parents can ensure products are safe and being used safely. Mehan recommends the four “Rs”: research, check for recalls, register the product and read the manuals front to back. To check for recalls, visit www. recalls. gov. ( Parents can sign up for email alerts on the site.) As many as 80% of recalled children’s products aren’t returned, Smith said in a release.

Parents who don’t buy new products should be extra cautious, Mehan says. She warns them not to use a crib made before June 2011 because of new safety standards. Also, parents should avoid used car seats because the history of the product can affect its safety; for example, she says, a car seat that survived a crash often is weak.

“If the products had a different design that made them easier to use, there would be less injury.” Tracy Mehan, Nationwide Children’s Hospital