How Safe Is Your Baby’s Crib? A Comprehensive Guide to Sleep Safety for Your Little One

As parents, we do everything we can to make sure our children are happy, healthy, and safe. From choosing the safest car seat to finding the most engaging toys, you know just how important the little details can be. But one area that can sometimes be overlooked—despite being one of the most important—is crib safety. In this guide, we’ll cover some important information about crib safety, including hidden dangers parents may not know about, as well as essential guidelines for safe sleep.

How Common Are Crib-Related Injuries & Deaths in the U.S.?

While it’s easy to assume that crib-related accidents are rare, the statistics tell a different story. Sadly, crib-related injuries and deaths are more common than many parents might think.

According to recent data:

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 3,700 infants died unexpectedly in the United States in 2022. This is known as sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID. While many of these deaths do not have an obvious or known cause, many are linked to unsafe sleep environments.
• Crib-related injuries are responsible for a significant number of hospitalizations. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an estimated 11,800 children were treated in emergency departments for injuries related to cribs and crib mattresses in 2019, an increase of more than 8% from the previous year.
• Furthermore, the CPSC’s reported that cribs, crib mattresses, bassinets/cradles, and playpens/play yards, as well as inclined infant sleep products and infant carriers, were linked to 83% of the 357 deaths among children younger than 5 that were associated with—but not necessarily caused by—nursery products during a three-year period from 2015 to 2017.
• According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 28% of sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) in the U.S. in 2022 were caused by accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed. Other leading causes including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and unknown factors.
• Drop-side cribs, which were banned in 2011 due to their dangerous design, were responsible for more than 30 deaths and hundreds of injuries between 2000 and 2010 (CPSC, 2011).

Baby product recalls also highlight the ongoing dangers of faulty or outdated cribs. In recent years, there have been multiple crib recalls due to design flaws, manufacturing issues, and other product defects, leading to hundreds of thousands of units being taken off the market. In 2020 alone, there were over 100,000 recalled cribs due to safety concerns like slat failures or lead-based paint.

When manufacturers cut corners, ignore safety standards, and prioritize profits over people, they must be held accountable. This is particularly true of children's product manufacturers, whose negligence puts our most vulnerable at risk. 

What Makes a Crib Unsafe? Not All Risks Are Obvious

As much as we wish for a world where every baby sleeps soundly in a completely safe environment, the reality is that there are numerous potential dangers in and around a crib. While most parents are aware of common hazards, such as loose bedding, not all risks are immediately obvious.

Cribs can be unsafe if they have certain hazards, such as:

• Improperly Spaced Crib Slats: The spacing between the crib slats should never be wider than 2 3/8 inches (66 mm). If the space between the slats is too wide, a baby’s head, arms, or legs can get stuck. Be sure to check that your crib meets current safety standards and avoid older models, which may have wider slats.
• Drop-Sides: Drop-side cribs, where one side of the crib drops down to a lower height, were once popular because they made it easier for parents to reach their babies. However, they have since been banned in the U.S. due to safety concerns. If the drop-side becomes detached, it can create a gap where babies can become trapped, leading to suffocation or strangulation.
• The Wrong-Size Mattress: An improperly sized mattress is another hidden danger with cribs and other infant sleep spaces, such as pack-and-plays or bassinets. A gap between the mattress and the sides of the crib can pose a suffocation risk, especially if your baby is able to move around or roll to their side or from front to back and vice versa. Crib mattresses must meet certain size specifications in the U.S. to ensure that there are no gaps where babies could become stuck. 
• Toys and Pillows: Stuffed animal, decorative pillows, and similar soft objects are suffocation hazards. Babies are at risk of suffocating if they roll over onto soft objects, so it's important to keep the crib clear of unnecessary items until your child is older. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises waiting until your child is at least 12 months old to put any objects—including stuffed animals, blankets, or pillows—into their crib.
• Bumpers/Bumper Pads: While crib bumpers and bumper pads are often touted as a way to make your baby’s sleep safe softer, warmer, and even safer, a 2007 study determined them to be unsafe. The study linked the deaths of 27 infants to bumper pads, with risks including suffocation when the baby’s face became pressed against the bumper pad and strangulation when the ties used to secure the bumper to the crib became tangled around the baby’s neck.

According to experts, the safest place to put your baby down to sleep is in a crib or bassinet that contains a properly sized mattress that is firm, flat, and does not have any gaps between its edges and the sides of the crib or bassinet. Babies should always sleep alone; if you have twins or multiples, each baby should sleep in his or her own crib or bassinet. While it is okay to use a tightly fitted sheet or cover on the mattress, parents should make sure the sheet is designed so that it cannot come loose, and that the mattress remains flat and firm with the sheet or cover on. Additionally, parents should make sure there are no cords, electrical wires, or other potential strangulation or suffocation hazards around their babies' sleep areas. 

For more information on current crib, bassinet, and pack-and-play safety standards, visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website.

The Top Crib Hazards Parents Need to Know

As a parent, nothing is more important than your child's safety. That’s why being aware of the most common crib hazards, as well as less-obvious dangers, is so important. Below, we've outlined the three most common crib safety hazards. 

Loose Bedding

Imagine you’ve placed a soft blanket in the crib, thinking it’ll keep your baby warm. A few hours later, you notice that the blanket has shifted and is now over your baby’s face. This may seem like a small concern, but soft bedding is one of the leading causes of suffocation in infants. While the baby is asleep, they can unknowingly roll into a position where the blanket obstructs their breathing. This scenario is entirely preventable by avoiding any soft materials in the crib until the baby is older, at least 12 months.

It's also important to avoid putting any other loose bedding or items in your baby’s crib. This includes:

• Blankets
• Pillows
• Non-fitted sheets
• Bumpers/bumper pads
• Stuffed animals
• Toys

Old Crib with Defective Slats

You’ve inherited a beautiful old crib from a family member, thinking it’s perfectly safe. Unfortunately, the slats on the crib are spaced too wide, and your baby’s leg gets stuck between them while they’re sleeping. This could cause panic, pain, and even serious injury. In fact, older cribs are associated with a heightened risk of infant injury and death due to entrapment, head injuries, and other serious risks. To prevent this, always make sure to check the manufacturer’s guidelines and ensure your crib, whether new or old, meets current safety standards.

Drop-Side Cribs

Imagine a situation where your baby is crying in the middle of the night, and you reach over to comfort them. Drop-side cribs were designed to make this easier on parents by allowing one side of the crib to lower. However, these cribs have since been banned in the U.S. due to the risk of a gap forming between the mattress and the side of the crib, which can lead to entrapment, strangulation, or suffocation.

When you’re sleep-deprived, it’s dark, and you’re focused on soothing your baby, you might not notice the hazard. In the worst case, your baby could slip through that gap, resulting in a potentially life-threatening fall or other tragic accidents. Drop-side cribs are no longer considered safe; if you have been gifted a drop-side crib or have purchased a drop-side crib secondhand, you should replace it right away with a model that meets all the current safety standards.

Safety Requirements for Cribs

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has specific safety guidelines for both full-size and non-full-size cribs.

According to the CPSC, a full-size crib is safety compliant when it meets ALL of the following criteria:

• The crib is made as a space for infants to sleep
• The crib is designed for use in residential homes, child care centers, family child care homes, or public establishments that affect commerce
• The crib’s interior measurements are:
  • 28 ± 5/8 inches (71 ± 1.6 centimeters) in width
  • 52 3/8 ± 5/8 inches (133 ± 1.6 centimeters) in length

Additionally, the requirements for a full-size crib mattress include that it must be at least 27 ¼ inches (69.22 cm) in width, 51 ¼ inches (130.18 cm) in length, and more than 6 inches (15.24 cm) in thickness.

The safety standards for non-full-size cribs include:

• The crib is made as a space for infants to sleep
• The crib is designed for use in residential homes, child care centers, family child care homes, or public establishments that affect commerce
• The crib’s interior measurements are either one of the following or both:
  • Either smaller than 49 ¾ inches (126.3 cm) or greater than 55 inches (139.7 cm) in length
  • Smaller than 25 ⅜ inches (64.3 cm) or greater than 30 ⅝ inches (77.7 cm) in width

Non-full-size cribs include play pens, play yards, pack-and-plays, portable cribs, specialty cribs, undersize cribs, and oversize cribs. These are separate from bassinets, or cradles, which have their own set of safety requirements.

You can see the CPSC’s full list of crib safety requirements here:

• Full-Size Cribs
• Non-Full-Size Cribs
• Bassinets/Cradles

Ongoing Legislative Efforts to Improve Crib Safety

Although defective or poorly designed cribs can present serious hazards that all parents should be made aware of, cribs and other infant sleep products, like bassinets, have made significant safety strides over the past several decades. Additionally, ongoing legislative efforts strive to make cribs and sleep environments even safer for babies. Advocacy groups and lawmakers continue to push for improved regulations to address emerging risks.

Some key areas of focus include:

• Improving Product Recall Systems: While the CPSC regularly recalls unsafe cribs and baby products, there are far too many instances in which parents never receive recall notices, leading to completely avoidable tragedies. Advocates are pushing for easier ways to track recalled products, ensuring that all parents receive prompt notification if an item they own is found to be unsafe. You can check current recalls here on the CPSC’s website.
• Banning Harmful Chemicals: Many advocacy groups are calling for stricter regulations on the chemicals used in crib mattresses and other baby products. Chemicals like flame retardants, formaldehyde, and phthalates have raised concerns due to their potential health risks. Ongoing legislative efforts aim to reduce or eliminate these substances in baby products.
• Educating Parents: Legislators and child safety organizations are working to ensure that parents are well-informed about potential hazards in their child’s crib and sleep environment. By improving public education about safe sleep practices, parents can make more informed decisions.

Reminders for Safe Sleep

Here are a few key tips to keep in mind for safe sleep:

• Always lay your baby flat on their back to sleep, both during naps and overnight.
• Keep the crib clear of pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and other objects until your baby is at least 12 months old and can safely roll over and move independently.
• Use a firm mattress that fits snugly in the crib. Make sure the mattress is the appropriate size based on current safety guidelines. If you use a sheet or mattress cover, make sure it is tightly fitted to the mattress.
• Avoid overheating by dressing your baby in light layers and keeping the room at a comfortable temperature.
• Consider a pacifier during naps and bedtime. Research has shown that pacifiers can help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Stop swaddling your baby as soon as he or she shows signs of rolling over, either from front to back or back to front.
• Avoid bed-sharing/co-sleeping (having your baby sleep in the same bed as you). The AAP recommends room sharing, where your infant sleeps alone in a secure sleep environment in your room but not in your bed, for at least the first six months of his or her life.

While co-sleeping, or bed-sharing, is never recommended, it is a reality for many parents in the U.S. and worldwide. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, nearly half of all parents surveyed (46%) reported co-sleeping “sometimes, often, or always” with their children.

Parents who decide to co-sleep should ensure that they create the safest possible environment for their babies. This includes eliminating space for potential entrapment between the mattress and the headboard or footboard, as well as the space between the bed and the wall. It also means removing pillows, blankets, and loose sheets from the bed and, if possible, moving the mattress to the floor to prevent falls. A pillow or blanket barrier should never be used as a way of preventing falls, as this can lead to suffocation or strangulation.

Additionally, the baby should be healthy and full-term with no medical conditions. Anyone who shares an adult bed with the baby should be a non-smoker, completely sober, and not take any medications that can affect wakefulness or alertness.

Know the Risks to Ensure Peaceful Sleep

Your baby’s crib should be a place of rest and security, not a source of worry. By staying informed about potential risks, keeping an eye on product recalls, and following safety guidelines, you can help ensure that your baby’s sleep environment is safe and secure. Getting them to actually sleep? Now that’s a different story!