Medical, consumer, and public health groups support safe sleep bills.

April 16, 2021

Dear Senator:

As 59 national and state medical, public health, and consumer organizations dedicated to children’s health and safety, we write in support of legislation to ban hazardous crib bumpers and infant inclined sleep products. These Senate bills are known as the Safe Cribs Act and the Safe Sleep Act, respectively.

In their early stages of development, infants are uniquely vulnerable to sleep-related fatalities. Expert safe sleep recommendations have contributed to safer sleep environments for infants and fewer sleep-related fatalities. These safe sleep recommendations include placing babies on their back, and on a separate, flat, firm surface with no restraints, soft bedding, or other products. However, infants and families remain at risk due to the presence of dangerous infant sleep products that remain on the market.

Crib bumpers are inconsistent with expert recommendations and have no place in a safe sleep environment. They have led to dozens of infant suffocation deaths and provide no meaningful safety benefit. The Safe Cribs Act would protect infants from sleep-related deaths by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of padded crib bumpers. The states of Maryland, Ohio, and New York, as well as several cities, have banned the manufacture and sale of crib bumpers. We urge Congress to pass the Safe Cribs Act so that all infants in the United States are similarly protected.

Infant inclined sleep products are also inherently unsafe and incompatible with expert safe sleep recommendations. These products, such as the now-recalled Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper, have been linked to the confirmed deaths of at least 93 infants. They present several risks, including positional asphyxia when the inclined sleep surface leads an infant to sleep in a position that restricts their airway, and suffocation when the products’ soft padding interferes with breathing or when infants roll onto their stomachs while in the products. The Safe Sleep Act would ban any product with an inclined sleep surface greater than ten degrees that is intended, marketed, or designed to provide sleeping accommodations for an infant up to 1 year old.

We urge you to support the Safe Cribs Act and the Safe Sleep Act to help prevent more families from experiencing the tragedy of losing a child to crib bumper pads and infant inclined sleep products. These bills offer a vital opportunity to protect children from preventable sleep-related deaths and promote safer sleep environments. If you have further questions, please contact Lucas Allen with the American Academy of Pediatrics at lallen@aap.org. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

National Organizations:

American Academy of Pediatrics
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Charlie’s Kids Foundation
Children’s Advocacy Institute
Claire Bear Foundation
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Reports
Cribs for Kids, Inc.
Education Development Center
First Focus Campaign for Children
Keeping Babies Safe
Kids In Danger
KidsAndCars.org
MomsRising
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Center for Health Research
Public Citizen
Safe States Alliance
Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR)
Start Early
SUDC Foundation
U.S. PIRG

State and Local Organizations:

American Academy of Pediatrics – Colorado Chapter
Aden Lamps Foundation
Alaska PIRG
American Academy of Pediatrics – Arizona Chapter
American Academy of Pediatrics – Hawaii Chapter
American Academy of Pediatrics – California Chapter 1
American Academy of Pediatrics – California Chapter 3
American Academy of Pediatrics – Orange County Chapter
American Academy of Pediatrics – New York Chapter 2
American Academy of Pediatrics – New York Chapter 3
American Academy of Pediatrics – Vermont Chapter
American Academy of Pediatrics, Maine Chapter
Arkansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Chicago Consumer Coalition
Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin
Children’s Wisconsin
Delaware Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Florida Chapter – American Academy of Pediatrics
Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Idaho Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Illinois Action for Children
Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Iowa SIDS Foundation
Kentucky Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Marshfield Clinic Health System and Marshfield Children’s Hospital
Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Michigan Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
North Carolina Pediatric Society
Pennsylvania Public Health Association
Sudden Infant Death Services of Illinois, Inc.
Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Virginia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Wyoming Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics