Drop-side cribs to be banned; linked to infant suffocation

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This article was published 24/11/2009 (5996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Drop-side cribs will no longer be sold in Canada and elsewhere now that the world’s standards organization has come down against them in the wake of multiple baby deaths.

The new safety standards, to be published as early as next week by ASTM International, come as parents brace for a massive recall of drop-side cribs, to be announced today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a source told Canwest News Service.

More than 4.6 million other models, some blamed for the suffocation deaths of babies, have already been recalled in the U.S. since 2007; in Canada, more than 500,000 have been recalled.

"The latest designation of the crib standard… no longer contains provisions that allow movable side rails on full-size cribs," Len Morrissey, director of ASTM International’s technical division, said Monday.

Retail giant Toys ‘R’ Us, anticipating the change in cribs standards, already stopped ordering drop-side cribs from manufacturers in March "out of an abundance of caution." Company spokeswoman Jennifer Albano added she expects inventory to be gone from all Canadian and U.S. stores by next month.

ASTM International’s new standards, approved at a closed-door meeting on Nov. 15, are considered voluntary safety guidelines, but major manufacturers are expected to follow them after they signed off on the proposal in March.

Drop-side cribs have been popular with parents, especially with people who are shorter or people with bad backs. But government regulators, charged with investigating the deaths of babies in these cribs, have noticed a problem with the rail that moves up and down, designed to help parents place their child in the crib or take them out.

The crib’s plastic hardware can break or deform over time, causing the drop side to detach. And when the drop side detaches, it creates space between the drop side and the crib mattress. If an infant rolls into this space, they can become entrapped and suffocate.

Crib regulations in Canada and the U.S. still allow the sale of drop-side cribs, but ASTM’s move to make full-size cribs with a drop-side a violation of voluntary safety standards means a de facto ban is coming into effect.

ASTM International, based in Pennsylvania, is one of the world’s largest standards developing organizations. The independent organization publishes standard test methods and specifications for thousands of products, including cribs, paints, medical devices and electronics.

There are more than 32,000 voluntary members from 125 countries, including Canada.

In July, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled "dangerous" Simplicity drop-sides following the suffocation death of a baby in Texas.

Health Canada followed up two weeks later to tell parents to immediately stop using the drop-side crib, also sold in Canada. In the wake of the U.S. recall, the Montreal-based importer of the crib, Elfe Juvenile Products, told parents in Canada it would provide a repair kit to fix the suffocation hazard, but Health Canada determined the kit did not adequately correct the hazard and announced consumers could receive a store credit from retailers.

In Canada, the federal government does not have the power to recall consumer products and instead must rely on manufacturers or distributors to initiate a voluntary recall. There is legislation currently before the Senate to give Health Canada recall powers. The bill received unanimous support in the House of Commons earlier this year.

 

— Canwest News Service