Nursing pillow safety requirements proposed after infant deaths

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is recommending the first federal requirements for nursing pillows, following an investigation claiming they have resulted in deaths of more than 100 infants.

Staff suggest that the U-shaped pillows, which mothers use during breastfeeding, be “sufficiently firm that the product is unlikely to conform to an infant’s face.”

The proposal comes two weeks after NBC News reported at least 162 babies have died in incidents involving nursing pillows since 2007 — with most of them dying after they were placed on or with the pillows to sleep.

The recommendations also call for the pillows to have wide enough openings to avoid restricting a baby’s head movements, which could cut off their airflow.

“Because infants frequently fall asleep during or after feeding, nursing pillows are foreseeably misused for infant sleep, which creates a potential hazard for the infant,” read the draft guidelines, per NBC News. 

CPSC staff is also pushing for more prominent warning labels on the pillows to inform consumers that the plush products could be dangerous for babies if left unsupervised, and they should not be used for sleeping.

These types of warnings already appear on the tags of many nursing pillows, but staffers are recommending they be even more visible and harder to detach from the pillow.

Additionally, the proposal recommends the removal of straps on nursing pillows, which staffers say leads caregivers to believe it’s safe to leave young babies alone in the products.

CPSC staff cited 154 deaths involving nursing pillows from 2010 to 2022, including from suffocation, asphyxia and sudden infant death syndrome.

The most recent complete data shows there were 38 deaths associated with nursing pillows in 2020. 

NBC News claims most of the babies in its count were less than 4 months old, with the youngest being only 3 days old. 

“Thousands of infants die each year in their sleep, and it’s a myth that all of those deaths are inexplicable,” CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told the outlet in a statement. “When products contribute to infant deaths, I believe it’s CPSC’s duty to eliminate that risk.”

CPSC commissioners are expected to meet on Sept. 13 to decide if they will move forward with the staff’s proposal.

If so, the public will be able to give feedback before it’s finalized and takes effect.