Unsafe Sleep Surfaces & Soft Bedding
Spot it
Anything in the crib besides a fitted sheet: bumpers, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, weighted swaddles. Or a baby sleeping on an incline, couch, or adult bed.
Fix it
Bare crib, firm flat mattress, fitted sheet only, baby on their back. Inclined sleepers and padded crib bumpers were banned by the Safe Sleep for Babies Act (effective Nov 12, 2022) — if you have one, stop using it regardless of when you bought it. AAP and CPSC also advise against weighted swaddles and blankets.
Safer swaps
What actually fixes this — the category to look for, not a brand we were paid to name.
Wearable blanket / sleep sack (unweighted)
Warmth without loose bedding
Firm crib mattress meeting 16 CFR 1219/1220 fit
No gaps at the crib edge
No shopping list for this hazard — the fix is a habit, not a purchase.
Related product category: Mattresses & bedding
Sources cited
Sources
- Suffocation in unsafe sleep environments is the leading cause of injury death for infants; inclined sleepers and crib bumpers are banned nationwide — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (incl. SaferProducts.gov), 2022 (how we check this source)
Every source we cite is checked against our criteria first — see how we check our sources.