FDA warns parents to never use infant sleep positioners

This week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a safety alert and re-issued a consumer update reminding parents and caregivers to avoid putting babies in sleep positioners. Also called “nests” or “anti-roll” products, these positioners can cause suffocation.

In the last 13 years, the federal government has received 12 reports of babies known to have died from suffocation associated with their sleep positioners. Dozens of other reports indicate that babies have been found in hazardous positions within or next to the positioner.

The FDA warns that parents and caregivers should NEVER use infant sleep positioners. Instead, infants should be put to sleep on their backs, positioned on a firm, empty surface. This surface should not contain soft objects, toys, pillows, or loose bedding. An easy way to remember this is to follow the ABCs of safe sleep: “Alone on the Back in a bare Crib.”

Learn more by reading the FDA Recommendations about the Use of Baby Products and by visiting the Safe to Sleep website.