Proposed Ban on Drop-Side Cribs
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Over the past two years there have been several infant deaths and injuries linked to drop-side cribs, which has lead a group of crib makers to propose an effective ban. Cribs with drop sides can derail from their tracks due to faulty hardware, poor design or improper assembly. Malfunctioning drop-side cribs have been blamed in incidents where babies have been trapped or strangled when the cribs give way.
The proposal was drafted by the crib subcommittee of ASTM international, a voluntary standards-setting group. Members of the ASTM consumer-product committee must approve the proposal, and if passed it could take up to a year to become effective and would only apply to newly made cribs.
The move to ban drop-side cribs comes months after a recall of 1.6 million drop-side cribs made by Delta Enterprises. The Delta recall was the fifth since autumn 2007 involving crib hardware problems. Over three million cribs have been recalled in the U.S. since September 2007 for various reasons. This has led the Consumer Product Safety commission (CPSC) to consider tougher, mandatory standards for crib safety. In addition, they have warned consumers who own older cribs to inspect them for potentially dangerous flaws.
Nancy Cowles, the executive director of Chicago child advocacy group Kids In Danger, and also a member of the ASTM subcommittee said,
“We’ve just come to the point where we realized there isn’t a way to make it safe enough to be sure you weren’t going to have failures in the field.”
The CPSC provided some crib safety tips and also instructions on how to check your crib for safety. There should be:
- A firm, tight-fitting mattress so baby can't get trapped between the mattress and the crib.
- No missing, loose, broken or improperly installed screws, brackets, or other hardware on the crib or mattress support.
- Cribs that are assembled wrong, have missing, loose or broken hardware or broken slats can result in entrapment or suffocation deaths. Infants can strangle when their head and neck become entrapped in gaps created by missing, loose or broken hardware or broken slats.
- No more than 2 3/8 inches (about the width of a soda can) between the crib slats so a baby's body can't fit through the slats; no missing or cracked slats.
- No corner posts over 1/16th inch high so a baby's clothing can't catch.
- No cutouts in the headboard or foot board so a baby's head can't get trapped.
If you have an older crib, especially if it has a drop-side, make sure to inspect your crib for possible areas of failure. Take these tips into account when you are checking the safety of your baby’s crib. Remember you can never be too careful.