Policy Statement For Bumper Pads

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Our file 05-100287-569

August 17, 2005

Mechanical and Electrical Hazards Division
Consumer Product Safety Bureau

Policy Statement

Health Canada does not recommend the use of bumper pads in cribs because they pose an entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation hazard to infants.

Background

Between 1987 and 2001, 23 incidents involving bumper pads were reported to Health Canada, including one strangulation death, one suffocation death, and three near-suffocation occurrences.

The presence of bumper pads in a crib may also be a contributing factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). These products may reduce the flow of oxygen rich air to the infant in the crib. Furthermore, proposed theories indicate that the rebreathing of carbon dioxide plays a role in the occurrence of SIDS.^{Footnote 1}

The Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Institute of Child Health, and the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths have also issued statements advising against the use of bumper pads.

Bumper pads have been on the market for many years and a number of reasons are cited to promote their use:

• to prevent infants from injury caused by bumping against the side of their crib;
• to prevent the infant in the crib from entrapping his or her limbs between the slats of the crib, and;
• for aesthetic reasons.

However, when used correctly, bumper pads should not protect infants from bumping against the sides of a crib or from having limbs become entrapped between the slats of the crib. This is because bumper pads are supposed to be removed from the crib by the time that the infant is able to roll over and sit up unaided (a development milestone normally reached between 4 and 8 months of age), which represents the same time frame in which it is expected that the infant would be able to move over and approach the side of the crib.

(It must also be noted that, for the most part, infants do not sustain major injuries from banging their heads against the sides of their cribs because they are incapable of generating enough force to seriously injure themselves through head banging. The frontal bone, which is the part of the head most frequently struck during crib head banging, is the thickest bone in the body and therefore, is capable of absorbing the shock associated with this type of behaviour.

It should also be noted that it remains possible for an infant to entrap his or her limbs over or under the bumper pads and that infant limb entrapment [between the slats of a crib], in the vast majority of cases, results in no injury or minor injury, such as bruising.)

In summary, aesthetic value, the risk of limb entrapment, and the risk of a child hitting their head against the side of their crib are overshadowed by the hazards of entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation (potentially leading to death) that children are exposed to through the use of bumper pads.

Hazards

Health Canada has identified the following safety hazards associated with the use of bumper pads:

• Plush, soft or pillow-like bumper pads pose a greater suffocation hazard to infants than those that are both thinner and firmer.
• Bumper pads that do not fit around the entire crib pose an enhanced safety hazard because they leave an opening in which a child can wedge his or her head and become entrapped between the bumper pad and the side of the crib.
• Bumper pads that are not able to be secured (by ribbons, strings, or ties) on their top and bottom edges at all corners of the crib, as well as midpoints of the long sides of the crib, also pose enhanced safety risks because they are not only capable of falling over and smothering the infant, but also are capable of being pulled away from the side of the crib (by the infant), thereby creating an opening.
• Bumper pads with an excess length [greater than 23 cm (9 inches)] of ribbons, strings, or ties, as well as bumper pads that are not secured with the ties outside of the crib, pose additional entanglement and strangulation hazards to infants.
• Bumper pads that are present in the crib when the child is able to roll over or sit up unaided not only pose a suffocation hazard, but also are capable of being used as a climbing mechanism once the child starts pulling to a stand.
• Stitching on the bumper pads that has come undone poses an entanglement and a strangulation hazard to infants.

Recommendations

Manufacturers, distributers, and retailers of bumper pads should ensure that the following minimum safety specifications are met:

• Bumper pads should be capable of being secured along their top and bottom edges at all corners, as well as at the midpoints of the long sides of the crib.
• Ribbons, strings, or ties on bumper pads should not exceed 23 cm
  (9 inches).^{Footnote 2}
• Lock-stitching should be used in the production of bumper pads.
• A permanent conspicuous label should be attached to the bumper pad that provides a warning which conveys the following:

"To prevent entanglement or strangulation, position ties to outside of crib and be sure they are secure. Remove bumper pads when child can sit up unaided"

Conclusion

The use of bumper pads may expose young children to the hazards of entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation.

Accordingly, it is the position of Health Canada that bumper pads compromise the safety of children with negligible perceived benefits. Therefore, Health Canada recommends that the Canadian public discontinue the use of these products. Bumper pads that continue to be bought and sold on the Canadian market should meet the minimum safety recommendations outlined in this policy.

For your information,

Sheila Davidson / Megan Fairfull
Project Officers