Installed around the cradle, the cot bumpers are designed to protect the newborn’s head from impact. Yet it turns out that they are very dangerous and even deadly.
The number of infant deaths linked to the presence of a bed bumper tripled in the United States between 2006 and 2012, worry American researchers in The Journal of Pediatrics published this Wednesday. Indeed, 23 deaths induced by a bed bumper were reported to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) between 2006 and 2012.
Even more alarmingly, researchers at the University of Washington and CPSC found that the majority of infant deaths and injuries can be traced to the bed bumper, which would disprove the idea that blankets, pillows, or toys are the main culprits.
This childcare accessory would therefore be the biggest cause of unexpected infant death. In France, an investigation by the Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) indicated that a bed bumper was found close to the infant’s face in 19 cases out of 205 unexpected deaths.
Avoidable deaths
“Bed bumpers kill children,” warns Bradley Thach, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and author of the work. They are much more dangerous than we had imagined. The deaths of children we studied could have been avoided if the beds had been empty ”.
According to this recent study, between 1985 and 2012, 48 infants died from a bed bumper. After analyzing death and autopsy certificates as well as investigative records, the researchers determined that 32 of the 48 deaths could have been avoided had a cot bumper not been used. Most infants died of suffocation because their noses and mouths were covered by the bumper or they were stuck between the mattress and the bumper, or because they were crushed by their twin sleeping in the bed. the same bed.
The researchers add that 146 children were victims of an incident in which they were suffocated or strangled by this accessory. On average, the babies were 4 and a half months old.
In the end, the authors stress that the number of deaths could actually be much higher because the responsibility of the bed bumper is not always mentioned.
Prohibition
Originally created to protect the child and prevent him from putting his head between the bars, bed bumpers are in fact ineffective. “Our study is the first to show that babies manage to put their head between the bars and bang their head despite the bumper,” says NJ Scheers, adding that sleeping bags or sleeping bags prevent children from getting their legs stuck in the bed. bars.
In France, the spacing between two bars in cots should not be more than 6 cm. Babies cannot stick their heads through it.
Despite numerous alerts from pediatricians and health authorities, bed bumpers are still very popular and showcased in stores. The authors therefore want them to be banned outright, as decided by the State of Maryland in 2013 and the city of Chicago in 2011.
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