The new rules will apply to infants up to 1-year-old and are being released at a time in which there remain racial disparities in the risk of infant death. In fact, per the AAP’s statements, the rate of sudden or unexplained infant death among Black and Native infants was two to three more common than in white infants from 2010-2013. Some 3,500 infants die due to sleep-related reasons a year. The new rules come on the heels of more product recalls related to infant lounger and rocker products, just after Biden’s Safe Sleep For Babies Act, and just after the CPSC’s new rule on safe infant sleep products that just became enforceable. The CPSC’s federal safety standard for sleep products means that all infant sleep products — cribs, bassinets, play yards, and bedside sleepers — must meet federal sleep safety standards (and have less than a 10% incline) and that parents should not use products for sleep that aren’t marketed for sleep. Products reaching the market that are marketed for sleep will have to meet CPSC standards as well.
13 Takeaways For Parents From The New Rules:
There are more rules, but these are focused on doctors and the media. For example, the AAP says it is “essential” that physicians and other providers endorse and model safe infant sleep guidelines and that media and manufacturers follow guidelines in their messaging and advertising. While the AAP strongly does not endorse bedsharing, they acknowledge that parents will continue to do so for many reasons. Because of that, the AAP did note three of the most dangerous practices of cosleeping: co-sleeping when a parent is on medications that make them less alert, cosleeping when a parent is a smoker, or co-sleeping on a soft surface like a couch or water bed. The organization still maintains that no one should cosleep, but that infants should sleep in the same room as their parents for the first six months of their life. Other new guidelines of course include the inclusion of the CPSC rule for safe infant sleep products, the new notice on sleeping with hats or head coverings, and the recommendation against using sleep-tech that claims to reduce the risk of SIDs. If all of that is a bit much, the ABCs of infant sleep are still very true. Infants should sleep alone in their cribs, with no soft toys, blankets, pillows, or crib bumpers, on their backs lying flat, and in their crib, not on a couch, in their parent’s bed, or in a rocker. For more info, check out healthychildren.org.
