As of June 23, 2022, manufacturers of baby products will be held to a new safety standard. It requires infant products intended for or marketed for sleep that don't already meet a federal sleep standard to be tested to confirm the angle of the sleep surface is ten degrees or lower.
Click hereto see more details of the federal rule.
The goal is to get rid of potentially hazardous sleep products being sold on the market.
"Babies sleep twelve to eighteen hours a day. Not only that, being a new parent is exhausting. So, it's really important that we understand that we as parents understand this rule and what safe sleep really means," said Lisa Trofe, Executive Director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.
JPMA members include dozens of well-known companies in the baby product marketplace, some of which have come under scrutiny in the last few years after infant deaths were reported in connection with their products.
"When at all possible, it's important to use new products because those products will meet current safety standards," Trofe said. She reminds caregivers to only use baby products as specified by the manufacturer.
"We need to be paying attention to the warnings and the instructions that are coming with the products that we're using for our children," she added.
Last month, President Biden signed the Safe Sleep for Babies Actinto law. It bans the manufacturing or sale of crib bumper pads and inclined sleepers. The law takes effect later this year, giving and retailers manufacturers time to comply.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends babies sleep on their backs on a flat firm surface like a bassinet or crib with nothing else in the sleep space. That means no pillows, crib bumpers, or blankets.
Earlier this week, the AAP releasedupdates to its safe sleep guidelines for the first time in several years. Some of the new safety recommendations say weighted sleepers and weighted swaddles should not be placed on or near a sleeping infant. Also, infant hats aren't recommended indoors except in the first hours of life or in the NICU.