While instances of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have dropped dramatically in the past 20 years, experts say that popular crib bumpers don’t contribute to that statistic.

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 (MedPage Today) — Breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) but bumper pads don’t, according to updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The recommendations — last revised in 2005 — go beyond SIDS and focus on providing a safe sleeping environment for infants to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths, such as suffocation.

Supine sleeping position, first recommended by the AAP in 1992, remains the cornerstone of SIDS prevention, along with a firm sleeping surface, and no bed sharing.

“Overall, we are making good progress in understanding SIDS and the importance of the infant’s environment in preventing suffocation deaths,” Rachel Moon, MD, who chaired the guideline writing committee, said during an AAP press briefing. “However, we still see evidence of unsafe sleeping practices, and we hoped to address those in these new guidelines.”

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October 4, 2011 | 5:35 pm

Children in cars will be required to ride in a booster seat until they are 8 years old under a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Current law requires booster seats for children until they reach the age of 6 or weigh at least 60 pounds.

Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) said that does not go far enough, and Brown agreed. Exceptions will be made for any child 7 years old or younger who is at least 4 feet 9.

Similar legislation was vetoed twice by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1.

–Anthony York in Sacramento

Mobi Technologies, Inc. (getmobi.com), a leader in family-oriented portable electronics, has garnered four prestigious national awards for four separate products. The National Parenting Center has awarded two of its Seals of Approval to Mobi, one for the MobiCam Digital DL Wireless Monitor and one for the tempTalk Digital Oral Thermometer. The Mom’s Choice Awards have honored Mobi for its Digital DXR Wireless Monitor and its DualScan Ear/Forehead Digital Thermometer.

The National Parenting Center’s testing division is run by independent testers, including parents, educators and panelists. Mom’s Choice judging panels include education and media experts as well as parents, children, medical professionals, authors and scientists. As such, being acknowledged by both organizations holds great significance within the parenting community.

“We are excited to be receiving these four major awards”, says David Naghi, president. “We strive to maintain a leadership position in family-oriented consumer electronics and these four recognitions from National Parenting Center and Mom’s Choice serve to motivate us even further. Our soon-to-be-unveiled new products will continue our tradition of providing safe, high-quality products with great value ­­– a combination upon which our loyal customers have come to depend.”

With an abundance of new and updated features including live video monitoring, infra-red night vision and pan, tilt, zoom functions, Motorola’s ‘next-gen’ baby monitors have been designed to offer a simple yet effective way of assisting parents with child supervision.

The Motorola MBP33 and the MBP36 help parents keep a watchful ‘real-time’ eye on sleeping baby. The high-quality video and infrared night vision capabilities of these monitors enable parents to check on baby’s sleeping position, watch for smothering or choking hazards, or see if baby is in distress. The monitors also provide high-quality, secure, interference-free audio thanks to their advanced multi-channel digital technology. They come complete with sound-level indicators, so that parents can tell whether baby is just making a little noise, or crying.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 21, 2011 Britax Child Safety, Inc., among the world’s largest manufacturers of car seats, today supported the American Academy of Pediatrics updated guidelines for children riding in car seats.

“We endorse today’s American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines that children riding in cars should remain in rear-facing car seats until at least age two — or until they reach the maximum height and weight allowed by those seats,” said Sarah Tilton, Britax child passenger safety advocate.

“Britax crash-tests and studies of crash force management prove that rear-facing car seats better support the spine, neck and head and more completely distribute the crash-forces over the child’s body and car seat. This is especially true in frontal impacts, the most common type of vehicle crash.

“We also urge children to remain with a forward-facing five-point harness until they exceed the height and weight limitations of the seat. At that point, they should transfer to a booster seat that’s secured by the car’s seat belt,” she said.

For more information about BRITAX, visit www.britaxusa.com, or find BRITAX on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

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New advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will change the way many parents buckle up their children for a drive.

In a new policy published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online March 21), the AAP advises parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. It also advises that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age.

The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday.

“Parents often look forward to transitioning from one stage to the next, but these transitions should generally be delayed until they’re necessary, when the child fully outgrows the limits for his or her current stage,” said Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement and accompanying technical report.

“A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body,” Dr. Durbin said. “For larger children, a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, and a belt-positioning booster seat provides better protection than a seat belt alone until the seat belt fits correctly.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The federal crib standards had not been updated in nearly 30 years and these new rules are expected to usher in a safer generation of cribs.

Once they become effective, the mandatory crib standards will: (1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; (2) make mattress supports stronger; (3) make crib hardware more durable; and (4) make safety testing more rigorous.

CPSC has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007. Detaching drop-side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective hardware. These new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safe in their cribs.

Effective June 2011, cribs manufactured, sold, or leased in the United States must comply with the new federal standards. Effective 24 months after the rule is published, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, must have compliant cribs in their facilities.

The full-size and non-full-size crib standards adopted the current ASTM International voluntary standards with additional technical modifications.

For more information on crib safety and safe sleep environments for baby, visit CPSC’s crib information center at: www.cpsc.gov/info/cribs/index.html

Links to the Federal Register Notices (all pdf):

• Safety Standards for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs; Final Rule
• Revocation of Requirements for Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs
• Third Party Testing for Certain Children’s Products; Full-Size Baby Cribs and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs: Requirements for Accreditation of Third Party Conformity Assessment Bodies

Last week the CPSC and Child Safety Partners launched a new campaign on crib safety to help educated new and expectant parents about crib safety. You can read the release below:

NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) joined three child safety organizations at New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital to release “Safe Sleep for Babies,” a new crib safety video aimed at helping all new parents avoid suffocation, strangulation and entrapment risks in the sleep environment. CPSC also is announcing three new recalls of dangerous drop-side cribs.

CPSC is collaborating with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Keeping Babies Safe (KBS), New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and renowned journalist and mom Joan Lunden to educate new and expectant parents and caregivers on crib safety while they are at the hospital or visiting their pediatrician’s office. The video (transcript) demonstrates how to keep babies safe and sound in cribs, bassinets and play yards.

“Nurses will not allow newborn babies to leave the hospital without parents having a safe car seat. I also believe that we need to make sure that new parents provide a safe crib, bassinet or play yard for their babies to sleep in,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “By reaching new parents before they leave the hospital and again when they visit their pediatrician or health clinic, we hope to prevent deaths and ensure that all babies have a safe sleep.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers to stop using infant sleep positioners. Over the past 13 years, CPSC and the FDA have received 12 reports of infants between the ages of 1 month and 4 four months who died when they suffocated in sleep positioners or became trapped and suffocated between a sleep positioner and the side of a crib or bassinet.

Most of the infants suffocated after rolling from a side to stomach position. In addition to the reported deaths, CPSC has received dozens of reports of infants who were placed on their backs or sides in sleep positioners, only to be found later in potentially hazardous positions within or next to the sleep positioners.

“The deaths and dangerous situations resulting from the use of infant sleep positioners are a serious concern to CPSC,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “We urge parents and caregivers to take our warning seriously and stop using these sleep positioners, so that children can have a safer sleep.”

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On average, one child dies every two weeks due to tipovers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Many parents and caregivers may not be aware that one of the top hidden hazards in the homes where young children live or visit is unsecured and unstable TVs, furniture and appliances. Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging families to take a moment to inspect and secure these items to prevent any more tragedies.

Between 2000 and 2008, CPSC staff received reports of nearly 200 tipover related deaths involving children eight years old and younger. Nearly all of these fatalities (93%) involved children five years old and younger.

More than 16,000 children five years old and younger were treated in emergency rooms because of injuries associated with TVs, furniture, and appliance tipovers according to CPSC staff’s most recent estimates from 2006.

“Large TVs and unstable furniture can be a deadly combination. Taking simple, low-cost steps to secure furniture and TVs can save lives,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “Parents need to know about this hidden danger and take action now.”

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