Although drop side cribs are now officially banned and are being phased out, a baby’s sleeping area may not be hazard free. As we discussed last week, monitors, crib bumpers, and sleep positioners can all become crib safety hazards. As sleeping gear is being examined by the CPSC, a large recall of baby monitors seems inevitable.

Recently, 1.7 million baby monitors by Summer Infant were recalled. This amount includes 40 handheld, digital, and video product models. Two infant deaths from strangulation by the monitor’s cord are the cause of the recall, and Summer Infant plans to add new instructions to all products.

With the exception of the Slim and Secure Video Monitor being taken off shelves for rupturing batteries, all other Summer Infant products did not come with instructions specifying the cord be placed several feet from the child’s safety area. While this could be considered common sense, parents may not be fully aware of appropriate placement for a monitor. The new instructions will state the monitor’s cord must be three or more feet away from a crib.

With this recent recall and CPSC deciding to reexamine certain baby sleeping items, what is the best approach for creating a safe crib area for your baby? Aside from not using a drop side crib, here are some factors to consider:
• Remove all objects that could become a suffocation hazard. This includes pillows, crib bumpers, and toys.
• Be careful with sleep positioners, which claim to prevent SIDS.
• Keep the monitor far enough from the crib.

If you happen to own a Summer Infant monitor and want a new, safer product, consider wireless baby monitors. With the same use and properties as any corded model, wireless monitors remove the strangulation hazard. For creating a safe area, make sure the monitor is positioned far away enough to not fall inside the crib.

By now you know that drop side cribs are banned by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), and if you owned such a crib, you got rid of it. Even with a more sturdy piece of baby furniture for your child, is the sleeping area safe? If you use crib bumpers or sleep positioners, it may still contain hazards to your baby.

A recent story in the New York Times discusses the CPSC’s decision to revisit a study about crib bumpers conducted by Dr. Bradley Thatch from 1995 to 2008. Thatch found that, over this 13-year period, 27 babies died from suffocation with bumpers in their cribs.

At the time Thatch finished his study, the CPSC dismissed it for too many external factors, but with the drop side crib ban in effect, the CPSC appears to be tightening its standards, an approach that started three years ago with the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The CPSC started the “Safe Sleep” campaign and detailed mandatory standards and suggestions for a baby’s sleep area. The use of no drop side cribs is a mandatory standard, while being cautious with sleep positoners and baby monitor cords are suggestions.

Even if you decide to forego a crib, make sure your baby’s sleep area is still safe. An article from The Times Herald in Norristown, Penn., recommends that a baby not sleep with parents in the same bed. An adult-sized person can roll over and smother a small child. Although cribs are standard sleeping places for a baby, low-income families may not be able to afford one, and other parents abide by the “family bed,” or sleep sharing, theory. Additionally, the Times Herald piece recommends that a baby not be placed on a soft surface, such as a waterbed or a pillow, for sleeping.

A ban on drop side cribs went into effect at the start of 2011, and retailers, daycare centers, hotels, and secondhand stores have six months to a year to remove and replace all drop side models with safer designs. Retailers of baby furniture appear to be having the easiest time. Parents now shopping for cribs at chains and smaller baby boutiques will no longer see drop side models on shelves. Although this model, prior to the ban, was going out of favor for convertible furniture, parents shopping for a new crib can find safer models only in stores.

Those needing to replace a large quantity of drop side cribs, such as daycare facilities and hotels, may experience the most financial strain over the next six to 12 months. As all drop side cribs need to be gone, 59,555 daycare centers may need to spent $550 million to fully replace them with safer designs. 43,000 hotels and inns have six months to remove and replace all unsafe cribs.

Consignment and thrift stores are also restricted by this ban, and they need to make sure drop side cribs do not end up for sale. Although such secondhand stores have seen overall sales increases, taking drop side cribs out of circulation may reduce the amount of baby products offered. Parents, when looking to save on baby furniture, should still examine all products for safety hazards.

As many brands of cribs saw recalls this past year, other aspects of baby sleeping areas are being questioned. Recently, this has been crib bumpers. Added to cushion a child against the wooden sidebars, crib bumpers have caused 14 suffocation-related deaths over the past year, and Illinois wants to ban this product. Although crib bumpers have not been removed from stores, parents should consider alternative methods for cushioning their child.

Another large recall by a major baby products manufacturer occurred over the past few weeks. 2009 and 2010 have seen several instances of recalls of strollers and cribs, although formula and toys from Fisher-Price also received serious blows as of recent. Graco, recently, pulled two million of its strollers produced prior to 2008. As these recalled strollers have resulted in four infant deaths from strangulation, Quattro Tour and MetroLite strollers and travel systems have been taken off shelves. Not securing a child correctly in one of these models poses a threat, as a baby can slip between the tray and bottom of the seat and get stuck. He or she may experience cuts, breathing problems, or strangulation. Designs after 2008, however, have a larger opening and are still in stores.

But strollers weren’t the only baby product recalled recently, and another wave of drop side cribs, albeit small, were removed from stores. Approximately 40,000 cribs from brands Ethan Allen, Angel Line, and Victory Land were found to cause entrapment, but at the same time, drop side cribs can no longer be sold after the end of the year. As we had reported earlier this year, the sale and use of drop-side cribs will be illegal by 2011, considering all of the injuries and deaths the design has caused over the past decade.

If you have a recalled product, the first course of action is to stop using it. For some, the manufacturer will issue a kit to fix the problem, although for others, purchasing a newer model is recommended. For Graco, models made from 2008 to the present are safe and can replace your existing model. Drop-side cribs, on the other hand, will be taken out of stores over the next few months, and should be removed from your home over the same time.