Target, Amazon and other retailers have pulled weighted baby sleepwear because of safety concerns
Bringing awareness to the United States, FDA and Congress to the warnings about weighted infant sleepwear and swaddles
Federal regulators and safe-sleep advocates warned about the dangers of products such as swaddles and sleep sacks that have added weight.
Products for infants must be designed and tested to meet strictest standards before they can be sold, according to the founder of Safe Infant Sleep.
Blumenthal said he became interested in the topic after hearing parents’ anxieties and fears about weighted infant sleepwear. “And the more I learned, the more troubled I became and the more questions I asked that have gone unanswered,” he added.
Williams said she knew of two fatalities involving weighted infant sleep products, but that the autopsy reports for both deaths mentioned unsafe sleep practices and one doesn’t mention a weighted product at all.
The United States government is against Dreamland Baby and Nested Bean, according to Williams. This is not a new category. It’s been out for over 10 years. There are over 3.5 million products that have no pattern of hazard.
Manasi Gangan, founder and president of Nested Bean, said her company is offering is a “safe, effective sleep tool” that has helped millions of babies.
“Any claims to the contrary are false,” she said. we look forward to working with the FTC and Senator Blumenthal to help families get a great night’s rest
Dreamland Baby is the only baby sleep product sold in the United States, and neither does it sell under a weighted product nor does Nested Bean
There has been little research on the safety of baby sleep products. One safety study published in the journal Advances in Neonatal Care in 2020 reported “no adverse events” among babies who slept under a weighted blanket, but their heart rates slowed and sessions lasted only 30 minutes at most.
The researchers found a 1-ounce weight applied to an infant’s chest didn’t present any clear indications for or against potential breathing hazard, but 3- and 7.5-ounce weights may increase the risk of breathing difficulties.
Gangan said the coroner’s report in one death cites “a tragic combination of multiple proven-unsafe sleep practices. It does not mention a weighted product nor a Nested Bean product.”
“The death of a child is an unfathomable tragedy, yet such an incident does not give public officials license to spread unsupported claims, particularly when they result in endangering a small, minority female-owned business,” Gangan said.
Natalie Gordon stated in the statement that the company values “doing what is best for growing families and keeping a pulse on the newest industry guidance.” She said that Babylist has stopped selling these products.
“I believe that there is sufficient evidence of potential harm to warrant an investigation. He told NPR that the federal agency should do that. Referring to past marketing claims by the companies, he added, “other agencies should join in demanding that these companies tell the truth.”
Williams said that language referred to existing CPSC standards for things like flammability and lead. She added that although Dreamland Baby’s staff didn’t believe the claim was misleading, the company removed it so as not to confuse customers.
We want to make clear that this is the product and that we are trying to work with anyone involved. This is what it does. “Here are your expected results,” she said.
Gangan said representatives from Nested Bean shared the research behind their marketing claims with Blumenthal’s staff and later changed a few of those claims to make them more specific.
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Gangan said that calling for a federal investigation of two small businesses may not uncover much more than what has been openly shared and burdening the resources.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal said that he has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to look into the safety of sleep products like cribs and sleep sacks, which have added weight. “It’s quite clear that these products are not safe for infants,” Blumenthal said. He added, “We’re concerned about the packaging of these products that may lead to injury or death of infants.”