Product Hazards – Sleep Positioners

Manufacturers of sleep positioners say the product encourages back sleeping which in turn will reduce the risk of SIDS. However, the sleep positioners are not recommended by any SIDS or medical groups, and have been known to suffocate children when they are not able to move their face away from the wedge.

Between 1997 and 2010, CPSC 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. In September 2010, CPSC and FDA issued a warning urging parents to stop using this product and rely on tested methods to reduce the risk of SIDS—back sleeping, bare crib, non-smoking household among others. In 2021, the CPSC passed the Infant Sleep Products rule which mandates all infant sleep products currently not held to a standard must adhere to the bassinet standard.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep on their backs, positioned on a firm sleep surface that meets Consumer Product Safety Commission standards. This surface should not include any soft objects, toys, pillows or loose bedding.

In order to avoid sleep-related injuries or death, KID recommends adhering to the ABC’s of sleep: a child should be Alone, on their Back, and in a bare Crib.

CPSC: Deaths prompt CPSC, FDA warning on infant sleep positioners