September 28, 2011 – Maryland officials are debating whether to ban defective baby crib bumpers as a believed health hazard for infants.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will announce their decision, after an earlier state advisory panel recommended the ban. They recommended the ban after examining a local a local case of a child asphyxiation that the state Chief Medical Examiner determined it was caused due to the baby crib bumper.
The decorative padded bumpers that attach to the rungs on the crib sides are something health experts have advised against using. If the crib bumpers are banned Maryland will be the first state to stop the sale of these padded cushions that are attached to the sides of the crib. Recently Chicago was the first city to ban the sale of this decorative item, after a Chicago Tribune investigation. The investigation showed that there had been over two dozen cases of infant suffocations that involved crib bumpers and was not sufficiently investigated by federal regulators.
Officials say the ban might seem excessive, however it is a way to make parents alert to the dangers that crib bumpers pose to children. According to Maryland DHMH Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, parents seeing the cushioned decorative bumpers when choosing baby furniture, assume they are safe, even though pediatricians advise against their use. This was bought to you by the personal injury lawyer at Ehline Law Firm PC at 6700 East Pacific Coast Highway #275 Long Beach, CA 90803 USA +1.562.342.9092.