Last week, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Reps. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29) and Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA-08) introduced the Safeguarding Infants from Dangerous Sleep Act in the U.S. Senate and House that would ban weighted sleep products for infants. KID applauds the introduction of this legislation to protect infants from these inherently dangerous products.
The bills define ‘‘weighted sleep product for infants’’ as a wearable blanket, sleep sack, swaddle, or similar product for a child up to one year old that includes materials that add weight to the product for a purpose other than for insulation or decoration. Proponents say these products can help babies sleep more deeply and longer, but there is little evidence supporting their safety and effectiveness. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) first warned against weighted sleep products in their 2022 revised safe sleep guidelines and again in a 2023 letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman.
Annually, approximately 3,400 sleep-related infant deaths occur in the U.S., often linked to unsafe sleep environments. The AAP emphasizes that impaired arousal from sleep, a potential effect from weighted sleep products, could increase the risk of SUID. Additionally, pressure on infants’ underdeveloped rib cages could affect their breathing and heart rate.
In April, Sen. Blumenthal called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the deceptive advertising practices of two weighted infant sleep product manufacturers that promoted the idea that the weight in these products naturally reduces stress and increases relaxation. However, the AAP stated that there is no evidence in the peer-reviewed scientific literature evaluating the safety of weighted sleep products on typical, healthy infants, and there is also nothing published regarding their use in an unmonitored setting.
Target, Walmart, Nordstrom, Babylist, and Amazon have already removed weighted infant sleepwear from their shelves and sites, but a legislative ban is necessary to codify these actions and give parents certainty about using them. The CPSC, NIH, CDC, and Health Canada have also warned against using weighted infant swaddles and blankets.
Read our press release with CFA and Safe Infant Sleep in support of the bill, and call your Senators and U.S. Rep. and ask them to support and cosponsor the Safeguarding Infants from Dangerous Sleep Act to protect infants from these unsafe products. Find contact information for your members of Congress here.
