Babies will be safer under Safe Sleep Act that takes effect today

The Safe Sleep for Babies Act takes effect today. Passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in May, the law designates inclined sleepers and crib bumpers as hazardous under the Consumer Product Safety Act and bans them from being produced or sold, regardless of the date of manufacture, because of the risk of suffocation.

Inclined sleepers, aimed at babies up to 1 year old, have a sleep surface slanted greater than 10 degrees. Crib bumpers are padded and go inside a crib. Consumer advocates including U.S. PIRG Education Fund have been pushing for a ban on inclined sleepers for years. More than 200 infant deaths have been linked to inclined sleepers,

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) last year ruled that inclined sleepers and other products marketed for sleep for infants younger than five months must meet the same federal safety standards required for cribs and similar products, starting in June. The Safe Sleep for Babies Act goes further than the CPSC rules, primarily expanding the age the products are aimed at, from five months old under CPSC rules, to 1 year old under the new federal law.

In 2019, a U.S. PIRG Consumer Watchdog investigation found that inclined sleepers that had been recalled were still being used in daycare centers in states across the country. This bans inclined sleepers and crib bumpers whether they were previously recalled or not.