Policy Statement For Bumper Pads
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Our file 05-100287-569
August 17, 2005
Mechanical and Electrical Hazards Division
Consumer Product Safety Bureau
Policy Statement
Health Canada does not recommend the use of bumper pads in cribs
because they pose an entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and
suffocation hazard to infants.
Background
Between 1987 and 2001, 23 incidents involving bumper pads were
reported to Health Canada, including one strangulation death, one
suffocation death, and three near-suffocation occurrences.
The presence of bumper pads in a crib may also be a contributing
factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). These products
may reduce the flow of oxygen rich air to the infant in the crib.
Furthermore, proposed theories indicate that the rebreathing of
carbon dioxide plays a role in the occurrence of SIDS.1
The Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Institute of Child
Health, and the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths
have also issued statements advising against the use of bumper
pads.
Bumper pads have been on the market for many years and a number
of reasons are cited to promote their use:
- to prevent infants from injury caused by bumping against the
side of their crib;
- to prevent the infant in the crib from entrapping his or her
limbs between the slats of the crib, and;
- for aesthetic reasons.
However, when used correctly, bumper pads should not protect infants
from bumping against the sides of a crib or from having limbs become
entrapped between the slats of the crib. This is because bumper
pads are supposed to be removed from the crib by the time that
the infant is able to roll over and sit up unaided (a development
milestone normally reached between 4 and 8 months of age), which
represents the same time frame in which it is expected that the
infant would be able to move over and approach the side of the
crib.
(It must also be noted that, for the most part, infants do
not sustain major injuries from banging their heads against the
sides of their cribs because they are incapable of generating
enough force to seriously injure themselves through head banging.
The frontal bone, which is the part of the head most frequently
struck during crib head banging, is the thickest bone in the
body and therefore, is capable of absorbing the shock associated
with this type of behaviour.
It should also be noted that it remains possible for an infant
to entrap his or her limbs over or under the bumper pads and
that infant limb entrapment [between the slats of a crib], in
the vast majority of cases, results in no injury or minor injury,
such as bruising.)
In summary, aesthetic value, the risk of limb entrapment, and the
risk of a child hitting their head against the side of their crib
are overshadowed by the hazards of entanglement, entrapment, strangulation,
and suffocation (potentially leading to death) that children are
exposed to through the use of bumper pads.
Hazards
Health Canada has identified the following safety hazards associated
with the use of bumper pads:
- Plush, soft or pillow-like bumper pads pose a greater suffocation
hazard to infants than those that are both thinner and firmer.
- Bumper pads that do not fit around the entire crib pose an
enhanced safety hazard because they leave an opening in which
a child can wedge his or her head and become entrapped between
the bumper pad and the side of the crib.
- Bumper pads that are not able to be secured (by ribbons, strings,
or ties) on their top and bottom edges at all corners of the
crib, as well as midpoints of the long sides of the crib, also
pose enhanced safety risks because they are not only capable
of falling over and smothering the infant, but also are capable
of being pulled away from the side of the crib (by the infant),
thereby creating an opening.
- Bumper pads with an excess length [greater than 23 cm (9 inches)]
of ribbons, strings, or ties, as well as bumper pads that are
not secured with the ties outside of the crib, pose additional
entanglement and strangulation hazards to infants.
- Bumper pads that are present in the crib when the child is
able to roll over or sit up unaided not only pose a suffocation
hazard, but also are capable of being used as a climbing mechanism
once the child starts pulling to a stand.
- Stitching on the bumper pads that has come undone poses an
entanglement and a strangulation hazard to infants.
Recommendations
Manufacturers, distributers, and retailers of bumper pads should
ensure that the following minimum safety specifications are met:
- Bumper pads should be capable of being secured along their
top and bottom edges at all corners, as well as at the midpoints
of the long sides of the crib.
- Ribbons, strings, or ties on bumper pads should not exceed
23 cm
(9 inches).2
- Lock-stitching should be used in the production of bumper pads.
- A permanent conspicuous label should be attached to the bumper
pad that provides a warning which conveys the following:
"To prevent entanglement or strangulation,
position ties to outside of crib and be sure they are secure. Remove
bumper pads when child can sit up unaided"
Conclusion
The use of bumper pads may expose young children to the hazards
of entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation.
Accordingly, it is the position of Health Canada that bumper pads
compromise the safety of children with negligible perceived benefits.
Therefore, Health Canada recommends that the Canadian public discontinue
the use of these products. Bumper pads that continue to be bought
and sold on the Canadian market should meet the minimum safety
recommendations outlined in this policy.
1 First Candle/SIDS
Alliance. Rebreathing
Carbon Dioxide and Suffocation as They Relate to SIDS. 08 Apr.
2005. 25 May 2005
2 American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F1917-00 Standard
Consumer Safety Performance Specification For Infant Bedding and
Related Accessories. West Conshohoken, PA: American Society
for Testing and Materials, 2000.
For your information,
Sheila Davidson / Megan Fairfull
Project Officers
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