5 Dangerous Infant Sleep Products That Are Still Easy to Find Online

Infant loungers have been marketed as cozy spots to put a baby down while they’re awake and a caregiver is nearby. But parents should know that in October 2024, after multiple recalls, at least 79 deaths, and 124 injuries associated with infant support cushions, the Consumer Product Safety Commission unanimously passed a sweeping new safety rule that will require most of the baby loungers currently on the market to be redesigned for safety.

Baby loungers put infants at elevated risk of suffocation, entrapment, or falls (such as when an infant in a lounger is placed on an elevated surface like a counter, chair, bed, or sofa). Numerous infant deaths have occurred because of suffocation while using loungers like the Boppy lounger. Other loungers like these currently available on Amazon and other sites show babies sleeping in a lounger, sleeping on their stomach in a lounger, or sleeping in the lounger inside a crib, contrary to safe sleep guidelines, and contrary to how these products are allowed to be marketed.

The new regulations on baby loungers and other infant support cushions don’t go into effect until the spring of 2025—until then, baby loungers remain easy to find everywhere online, with no messaging to parents or caregivers about the potential risks of these products.

• Oval or C-shaped pillows that are advertised as giving babies a better sleep position
• Product images showing babies sleeping on baby loungers or sleeping in unsafe positions
• Design features like restraints, straps, or wraps that may suggest that it’s safe to leave a baby unattended with the product

Safe sleep guidelines say that babies should sleep on a firm, flat surface. But infant sleep positioners and sleep wedges are marketed to parents as a way to relieve their baby’s reflux symptoms. Parents who are understandably desperate for sleep solutions might try propping up their baby for sleep on one of these products.

But sleep positioners have been associated with at least 10 infant deaths. The same October 2024 CPSC safety standard for infant support cushions applies to nonmedical infant sleep positioners and wedges as well—meaning that manufacturers of these products will need to redesign them in accordance with the new rules by 2025, or pull them from the market. (Sleep wedges and positioners designated as medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration would be exempt from the new rules.)

• Any soft, pillowlike product marketed for infant sleep
• Products meant to position babies on their sides, an unsafe sleep position for infants
• Wedges that incline a baby during sleep, either by placing the baby on them or by placing the wedge under a mattress or bassinet pad

The Fisher Price Rock ’n Play inclined sleeper was marketed to parents as a lifesaver for infant sleep—when, in fact, it was the opposite. After approximately 100 infant deaths were associated with the product, Congress passed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act in 2022. In 2023, the CPSC finalized rules that would ban companies from “the manufacture for sale, distribution, or importation into the United States” of inclined infant sleepers.

The ban on inclined sleepers for infants is due to a number of serious hazards, including the risk of asphyxiation or positional asphyxiation. While sleeping at an incline, a baby’s neck can struggle to keep its head elevated enough to breathe properly, among other risks. A recent study found inclined sleepers led to a fivefold greater risk of SUID. 

• Elevated or inclined products marketed or promoted with the words “rest,” “sleep,” or “naps”
• Inclined swings, bouncers, or rockers that manufacturers claim rock the baby to sleep
• Images of sleeping babies or design details that connote nighttime or sleep

Initially developed for sensory therapy, weighted blankets have become increasingly popular for adults. However, weighted sleep sacks, weighted blankets, and weighted toys marketed to parents as a way to calm a fussy baby and encourage sleep are not safe. 

The CPSC advises caregivers not to use weighted sleep sacks or weighted swaddles, citing both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. In April 2024, CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka issued a call to major retailers to stop selling weighted infant products because of the potential for lowered oxygen levels in infants during use. He cited a letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics that these lower levels can affect the growing brain over time. Weighted sleep sacks may also cause babies to sleep longer and more deeply, meaning they may not wake to reposition themselves when they roll into a dangerous position.

But weighted sleep sacks are still widely available and marketed to sleep-deprived parents as a solution for infant sleep. In August 2024, Consumer Reports commended the introduction of the bill Safeguarding Infants from Dangerous Sleep. 

• Sleep sacks or products labeled “weighted”
• Infant sleep products that are promoted as having “gentle pressure” or any pressure at all
• Weighted products that are advertised as “safe” for babies

Decades ago, an essential baby shower gift was a soft and fluffy crib bumper, often made from thick, padded comforter material. The idea was that crib bumpers would prevent babies from accidentally getting an arm or leg stuck in their crib slats. But crib bumpers had unintended and tragic consequences. According to the CPSC, crib bumpers were present in the sleep environment for over 100 infant deaths and associated with an additional 282 nonfatal incidents between 1990 and 2016.

In 2017, the CPSC issued a statement about the risks of strangulation, suffocation, and other dangers from crib bumpers. Congress went on to ban padded crib bumpers in 2022, spelling the end of the road for this product—or so people thought. But companies continue to manufacture and sell them, such as a China-based product recalled in 2023. Numerous similar options are still available on Amazon, and crib bumpers sold on Temu by a third-party seller were recalled in November 2024.

• Any padding or fabric wrapping around the crib slats
• Bedding sets that include crib padding or bumpers
• Bumpers claimed to be “safe” or necessary to prevent babies’ limbs from going through crib slats

We contacted to Walmart, Amazon, Go Garden Store, Orbisify, and Le Caneton, where we found unsafe products for infant sleep. 

Walmart immediately removed the items from the company’s site, saying they were listed by third-party sellers and didn’t meet their policies and high standards. “Items that are identified to not meet these standards or requirements will be promptly removed from the website and remain blocked,” Walmart said. “We are adjusting our controls to help prevent similar items from being listed on our site.” We subsequently found more examples of third-party sellers on Walmart.com showing unsafe infant sleep products, and will follow up with the company.

Amazon was in the process of investigating and taking down products we cited and “taking action against bad actors,” according to a company spokesperson, who added that Amazon continuously monitors its store, “and if we discover a product was undetected by our automated checks, we address the issue immediately and refine our controls.”

Le Caneton, a company based outside of the U.S. that sells baby products globally, including in the U.S., said it was not aware of a ban on crib bumpers and would now “take all the necessary measures to prevent US customers from being able to buy the bumpers from our website.” 

Orbisify told CR it sells products in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia and will stop selling products like the sleep positioners we called out when they are no longer able to be sold in the U.S. The platform still sells crib bumpers outside of the U.S. and said it would stop by the end of the year. 

Go Garden Store did not respond to a request for comment.

To my confused friend trying to safely shop for her baby, and all the other parents doing the same, a word to the wise: Proceed with caution. Shopping online can be confusing with so many baby products being sold through third-party sellers. Until digital marketplaces can address every single hazard that puts babies at risk, parents have to do what they do best—protect their own children.