Why are cot bumpers still sold???

[xitedmum]

Walking around the Baby Show (London 20/10/18) I couldn't believe how many cot bumpers were on display. I thought these were a definite no-no. Why are they still sold or does anyone use one and why?? Are they not as dangerous as people made out? Thanks!!

Ive recently seen on FB selling site someone who makes what are effectively big cushions tied together with ties. Two at the head end so babies head was tucked inbetween them...

They had lots of...gorgeous yes pleases

I don't think they should be sold - too many tragic stories of babies dying because they have been suffocated or strangled by them. Not just tinies either - babies of 8/9 months.

I never had one for my son - he moved a lot in his sleep and did sometimes bump into the bars but not hard enough to hurt him. I'd rather get up and settle a baby if they wake than risk a bumper.

We had Velcro-on ones that didn't move a millimetre. Not because they looked pretty but because she kept hitting her head and also getting her legs stuck through the bars. They worked and then we took them off when she was more mobile.

It's actually MORE dangerous to use them once the baby can roll and pull him/herself up. According to the lullaby trust:

“Cot bumpers pose a threat to babies once they begin to roll and move about the cot. We know that some infants have become entangled in the ties and material, or fallen whilst pulling themselves up on the bumpers."

There have been several dozen deaths of older babies attributed to cot bumpers. It's not worth the risk.

We didn’t use them with newborn or younger babies but did for one when they were older and a toddler as they would press their head into them and inadvertently bang their head to the point they had bruising. Given they were older and mobile etc we made the decision cot bumpers were okay st that point. Other child never needed them. I think they have their place and don’t think they should be banned.

Didn't want one as read about deaths and suffocation

Dc bumped around quite a bit so we had an air wrap I think it was called

Plain white only

Not for aesthetics

Shocked they fancy ones are still sold

Search justice for Preston. Read that story and then decide. They are completely unnecessary and so dangerous!

@AlphaBravo Thank you for the tip! that sounds lovely. Our nursery is going to be a jungle/safari theme so that would be perfect

Genuinely interested.
We used a breathable one attached with velcro- tight so it didn't slip.
So no suffocation risk, no stragulation risk. I really want to know (for next time) what the risk with those are?
We used it because DD kept bumping against the bars or getting a hand through and stuck.
It wasn't cushioned, but still nicer than banging against wood!

We used one - for both kids - which was tucked very firmly between the mattress and side of the cot, and tied on underneath the mattress.

It wasn't for a pretty nursery, it was to stop them bashing their heads and faces off the bars, which they both did with monotonous regularity.

I'm sure a bumper would be great for stopping my son from posting his dummy onto the floor...seriously though , I simply wouldn't risk using one. A clear cot is the only way to go.

I did use one with my older two though as the advice was different then.

I did hear a story about an older baby who got caught behind the bumper ie sat up and was between the bumper fabric and the cot bars and got stuck/suffocated. Nothing to do with the ties.
However, I do wonder if that was more of a scaremongering story than truth. Either way I personally would never use one.

Oh, and my friends son had a spiral fracture in his leg from getting his leg through the bar then turning over in his sleep. So that was another factor.

my 15 month old is always thrashing around her cot - i still wouldnt use bumpers- she has yet to knock herself out and whilst she can roll i dont think she has the know how to untangle herself if she were to get caught in the ties etc.

@Lamona similar to this one?
www.argos.co.uk/product/8548715?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59156|acid:444-797-0832|cid:189942085|agid:18091972885|tid:aud-484139255741:pla-546578359896|crid:77627772925|nw:g|rnd:2390156807047738353|dvc:c|adp:1o4|mt:|loc:1006484&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsMDeBRDMARIsAKrOP7H8XOh7ucyAcbDmgtHOKWOuyaBl8DHtBoz_XgknUls02BXtL7tNDVgaAnWuEALw_wcB

We have a breathable mesh one on our cot, it velcros on. Never needed one for DS1 but DS2 seems to be the wriggliest baby ever and kept getting his arm stuck during the night. The pretty cushion type ones are lovely but seems a faff to put them on and take them off when baby goes to sleep so don't see the point in them at all.

I used one with all my kids, I think the safety advice was to have shortened ties. Anyway they came from Mothercare and were up to the accepted safety standards.
It wasn't to have a 'pretty nursery' (I've never had a nursery), it was to make the cot warmer, softer, and more secure. Didn't have central heating either, so it was bloody freezing in cold weather. They all slept better with cot bumpers.
If there's evidence of them being that dangerous though it's surprising they haven't been banned.

We had the mesh one too once the DCs could roll and were getting limbs stuck after laughing a little.

The decorative ones went on later once they could sit up/pull themselves up. Not for tiny babies that could get stuck on them. The one we had was animals, IIRC, so was good for chatting to an older baby/younger toddler.

i used one with my dd 7, didnt know you werent suppose to as no one told me. and i didnt really know about parent sites back then. luckily nothing bad happened.

I have one. It's tucked down the side of the mattress, woven in and out a few of the bars and all ties tight, double knotted and tucked well in.

To those with the cot bumpers tucked in tight/tied on tight. It's not the strangulation risk that is a problem. It's the baby rolling over and getting their face stuck against it when they can't roll back.

They shouldn't be used with a baby that can't get themselves away from the sides of the cot. Our DS was a wriggler and could wriggle himself (but not purposefully) against the sides of the cot, from birth. He couldn't get himself out.

We have a purflo cot bumper, I wouldn't use any other kind.

purflo.com/collections/cots-cribs-mattresses/products/purair-breathable-cot-bumper-soft-truffle

Reading through this I am absolutely baffled why cots aren't made with softer bars. Like a neoprene coating or something

MrsW85
I came on this thread to say google Justice for Preston as well. Heartbreaking.
I also personally know someone whose DD was almost strangled on theirs. and she wasn’t a tiny baby.
Too many deaths caused by cot bumpers. I didn’t use them but I’d rather bumps and bruises and yes, even a spiral fracture, than risk my child being gone forever.
Lots of things that aren’t dangerous aren’t banned e.g. smoking. How long has it taken for cigarettes to be banned from cars when children are in them? How long have we known that cigarettes and passive smoking are a danger to health?
Just because something hasn’t been banned, doesn’t mean it’s safe.
We didn’t have car seats when I was a baby. Would we do that now? No.
We didn’t have a law requiring seatbelts to be worn till 1983. Does that mean it was safe before then? Of course not.
Things change, laws are passed and things get banned for good reason. Usually because a lot of people have died.
Who remembers Anne Diamond losing her baby to cot death? It took quite a while for the safe sleep guidelines to advise that babies should be put to sleep on their backs.
And what about the feet to foot safety advice?
So many dangers and risks. Yes, you can’t legislate for every single thing but if you hear of a death or injury, why would you just say oh it’s fine, it won’t happen to me?
The baby who suffocated when one of those headbands slipped down when she was asleep; would you then continue or start to use one? Some people probably would, tbh, for decoration. And “Well, I supervise my baby 24/7 so they’re not in danger.”
Tell that to the poor mother who lost her baby to one.
Grapes, anyone??? After reading just one story about a boy who choked on a grape in Pizza Hut, I thanked God that my two didn’t like them. I’d have cut them up though, anyway. And there have been lots of tragic stories since.
No, we can’t wrap our children in cotton wool but we can minimise risks.
I’m not a neurotic mother by any means at all, I allow my DC to get up to all sorts of shenanigans but I never once compromised on safe sleep, that I was aware of at the time.
I now shudder to think that I allowed a teddy in their cots. And their cots were jammed up next to my bed so that I had to climb in and out from the bottom.
I’m not very good at posting links but google JUSTICE FOR PRESTON. His mother has campaigned against them since she lost her son and thanks to her, the Lullaby Trust has issued new advice on safe sleep.
She has been interviewed recently by the BBC and might possibly have been on telly; I can’t quite remember all the details but people are taking more notice of her.

A SAFE COT IS AN EMPTY COT.