Crib Bumper Ban Now In Effect In Maryland

By Bryan P. Sears

A statewide ban on certain types of crib bumpers went into effect Friday in Maryland.

"The ban on the sale of crib bumpers promotes safer sleep for infants, and safer sleep will mean fewer tragedies for Maryland families,” said Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, in an emailed statement.
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The ban applies to bumpers that are non-mesh and rest inside the crib directly above the mattress. Bumpers that wrap tightly around crib railings are not subject to the ban, though state health department officials say they do not endorse any kind of crib bumper.

Anyone who ships a banned crib bumper to a Maryland resident is subject to a warning, and up to a $500 fine for each bumper shipped if there are continued violations.

The ban is part of the health department's safe sleep initiative.

A 2007 report by the Journal of Pediatrics found 27 accidental deaths of children between the ages of 1 month and 2 years attributed to crib bumpers. The suffocation and strangulation deaths occurred between 1985 and 2005 when the children became tangled in the bumpers.

"Pediatricians in Maryland support the new ban on the sale of crib bumpers. Far too often in our state, healthy infants are dying in unsafe sleep positions," said Dr. Scott Krugman, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center and President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in the statement. "Bumpers offer no benefit to infants and may cause unnecessary deaths."

The department will distribute more than 200,000 cards and posters on safe sleep practices to local health departments and other agencies. Free materials are also available on the department's website.