‘Death risk’ baby sleep positioners removed from sale
LEADING shops have stopped selling baby sleep positioners amid warnings they can cause deaths.
Tesco, Mothercare, John Lewis and eBay have removed the products from sale after a watchdog in the US raised the alarm.
The positioners, which are also called ‘nests’ or ‘anti-roll’ devices, are aimed at babies under six months and are designed to keep them sleeping in the same position.
But the US Food and Drug Administration warned that the products can cause babies to suffocate, in most cases after rolling on to their stomachs.
Sleep positioners have been linked to 12 deaths in the US in recent years. The health regulator said the two most common types feature raised supports or pillows, called bolsters, attached to each side of a mat, or a wedge to raise a baby’s head. The FDA first issued a safety warning about the products seven years ago warning parents not to use them.
It renewed those warnings this week, saying: ‘The FDA is reminding parents and care givers not to put babies in sleep positioners. These products can cause suffocation that can lead to death.’ After the FDA’s 2010 warning, several UK retailers said they would take them off sale. However, it has emerged they continued to stock some of the controversial products.
At the time, Mothercare said it would stop selling three products – Head ’n’ Back, Resting Up and Snugglenest. But the company continued to sell the Babymoov Cosydream Sleep Positioner for £39.99, which has now been taken off shelves. This product comes with a warning to customers not to use it once their child is able to turn over on their own.
In 2010, a Tesco spokesman said the supermarket only sold sleep positioners online and that it would stop doing so as a precaution. However, until recently, it had seven products listed under a ‘sleep positioners’ category. Tesco, which sold sleep positioners on its website through a third party, has now said: ‘We have removed these products from our website as a precautionary measure.’
John Lewis has removed the £65 Cocoonababy Sleep Positioner from sale as a ‘precautionary measure’. An eBay spokesman said: ‘ Following recent recommendations by US authorities, items of this nature will now be prohibited from being sold on our platform. Our team will be informing sellers and removing any listings that contravene our policies.’
Sleep positioners are currently still available from Amazon and other baby product retailers.
The Lullaby Trust, a cot death charity which advises the NHS, says there is no need for parents to use any type of equipment or rolled up blankets to keep a baby in one position, unless they have been advised to do so by a health professional for a specific medical condition.
It says babies should be put to sleep on their backs in cots ‘kept as clear as possible’, with no pillows or duvets, no cot bumpers, no soft toys, no loose bedding and no products, such as wedges or straps, that keep a baby in one position.
‘Keep cots as clear as possible’