Stop Smothering Your Baby To Death

We the undersigned, alongside MISSION, Mothers Investigating Safe Sleep Options for Newborns, are urgently requesting parents, physicians, medical professionals, and our local government, all who have a vital interest in the well-being of America's children, to call to action an investigation of traditional crib bumpers. Without your help, countless parents will unknowingly put their child at risk.  

Over one hundred children have died due to strangulation or suffocation from traditional crib bumpers. This outdated contraption is no longer necessary because of standards that now regulate the space between crib rails.  Many consider traditional bumpers unsafe and want the Consumer Product Safety Commission to thoroughly investigate the deaths these bumpers are causing in an effort to save the lives of innocent babies.

Researchers cited 27 accidental deaths of babies who suffocated on or under bumper pads or became entrapped from loose ties from 1985 to 2005, according to a study published in September 2007 in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Another study in 2009, by the Consumer Product Safety Commission highlights 93 child deaths that were associated with cribs between 2004 and 2006. The majority of these deaths were attributed to traditional crib bumpers that often led to asphyxiation of the infant. The study also describes an additional 11,500 injuries during that same time period.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages the use of pillow-like bumper pads, there remains a mixed message. There are now new alternatives on the market that are more effective and less dangerous than traditional bumpers, but until there is a clear, concise message on the dangers of this death trap, parents will unknowingly put their child at risk. Even traditional bumpers that are not pillow-like have ties that loosen and pose a serious entrapment issue.

By signing this petition, you will help heighten awareness, increase interest in safe sleeping environments for babies, and most importantly express that traditional bumpers are dangerous, should not be used in a child's crib and that the government should take action to investigate the deaths caused by this product.

Thank you,