ER visits edged higher in recent years
Tens of thousands of children go toemergency rooms and hundreds die every year because of nursery products.
In 2023, there were around 60,400 visits to the ER ofchildren aged younger than five associated with nursery products, including high chairs, cribs and strollers,the federal government's Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday in a report.
There were 523 deaths linked to theproducts between 2019 and 2021, which is the latest data the CPSC published.
Nursery-product related ER visitshave climbed slightly in recent yearsbut the trend isn'tstatistically significant, the CPSC said.
Falls are the leading cause of these injuriesand most frequently involve head injuries. Internal organ injuries, contusion or abrasion and laceration accounted for most of the other incidents.
And some nursery products are proving more dangerous.
High chairs,cribs or mattresses, infant carriers and strollers or carriages accounted for 64% of all emergency room visits associated with nursery productsin 2023.
Causes of death includedpositional asphyxia, strangulationand drowning.
Between 2019 and 2021, around 76% of nursery-product deaths were linked tocribs or mattresses, bassinets or cradles, playpens or play yards, inclined infant sleep products and infant carriers.
The CPSC continues to set new safety regulations for babies, saying earlier this week it had approved new rulesfor nursing pillows following more than 100 infant deaths between 2010 and 2022.
Other infant products are also in the crosshairs of legislators and child advocates.
Democrats Senator Richard Blumenthal and representatives Tony Crdenas and Kim Schrier introduced a bill this year into Congress that would ban weighted blankets and swaddles after pediatricians warned the products were contributing to 3,500 sleep-related infant deaths a year.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-09-20 01:01:30
