Nursery products hurting small kids
Erin Adamik is expecting her first child this summer and plans to be vigilant about her daughter’s safety.
That means researching products before she buys them and talking with people who’ve already used them.
So she was troubled when she heard about a new study that suggests an infant or toddler suffers an injury associated with a nursery product every eight minutes in the United States.
“It’s absolutely concerning hearing about how products have failed and how many infants are hurt from it,” said
Adamik, a nurse program manager at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “It shows where the needs are for education and where the needs are for product safety.”
The study was done at Nationwide’s Center for Injury Research and Policy and also shows that more infants and toddlers are suffering concussions and brain injuries caused by a blow to the head, often because of falls associated with nursery products.
Overall, the research shows that more than 66,000 children age 3 or younger are injured each year while using products that include baby carriers, cribs, strollers and walkers. The study, which reviewed emergency department data from 1991 through 2011, is being published online today in the journal Pediatrics.
“We can do a better job of protecting our children. If this was a disease, it would be unacceptable,” said Tracy Mehan, manager of translational research at the Center for Injury Research and Policy.
The annual injury rate decreased by 33.9 percent from 1991 to 2003, driven by a significant decline in injuries from baby walkers, jumpers and exercisers, the study said. But that was followed by a 23.7 percent increase in injuries from 2003 to 2011. Those were driven by a significant rise in concussions and brain injuries caused by a blow to the head.
During the study period, the proportion of concussions and brain injuries caused by a blow to the head rose from 18.6 percent to 41 percent, with researchers noting that some of this likely was because of increased awareness.
“This is not just an issue for parents. This is a concern for manufacturers as well,” Mehan said. “If there are this many injuries happening, we’d like to challenge manufacturers to rethink designs, to see if there are some ways to design these products to make injuries less likely.
“And we know they can do it,” she added, referring to changes made to make baby walkers safer.
Dr. Tanya Altmann, a California-based fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that although she was surprised that injuries are on the rise, it makes sense considering all the new products on the market and the fact that more parents often multitask.
“Babies are always in a device, they’re not just on the ground playing with blocks anymore,” she said. “They’re in a carrier or a swing or a sling or a bouncer or some kind of device.”
She called the study a good wake-up call for parents and a reminder that they should baby-proof their homes, follow a product’s directions and age recommendations, always use safety straps and be aware of what babies are doing.
“Parents, let’s pay attention to our babies,” she said. “Try not to have your head in your cellphone when it’s time to interact and play with your baby.”
Among other findings of the study:
A vast majority of injuries, 87.9 percent, happened at home.
The most frequently injured body region was the head or neck and injuries were most commonly caused by falls (80 percent).
Baby carriers were the leading cause of injuries. They also were involved in one-third of product-failure injuries, including instances of handle detachment and collapse.
Cribs/mattresses were the second-leading cause of injuries and strollers/carriages the third.
The study was limited to emergency department data, so the number of injuries to children was likely underestimated, Mehan said.
“I think parents are going to be surprised to hear that they happen so frequently,” she said.
With any product, she said, parents should follow the “four Rs”: research products at websites from trusted organizations; check for recalls at www.recalls.gov; register the product with the manufacturer; and read the product manual.