(Photo: CBS)BALTIMORE (WBOC/AP)- Maryland will ban the sale of baby crib bumper pads next year, saying the items have no benefit but potentially serious risks to infant health.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Friday that the ban will take effect June 21.
DHMH Secretary Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said the department's message is "that babies sleep best alone, on their back, and in a crib. Baby bumper pads are not part of this picture, and in fact can pose a serious threat to health."
Last year, the department held advisory committee meetings and public comment periods to assess the potential risks and benefits of baby bumper pads. Risks include suffocation and strangulation.
The regulation defines baby bumper pads as "a pad or pads of non-mesh material resting directly above the mattress in a crib, running the circumference of the crib or along any of the interior sides of the crib, and intended to be used until the age that an infant pulls to stand." The ban does not apply to vertical bumpers that wrap tightly around each individual crib rail or to mesh crib liners. However, the DHMH said it does not recommend the use of these or other novel products.
