Breathable Bumper Pads: safe or not?

irisheyes9912

I used them with my son, whose now 12 yrs old, & I planned on using them with my daughter when she arrives in Jan.  My mom told me that there's articles all over the internet & some recent articles in the paper, talking about how dangerous they are & how some places actually banned the sale of them, because it's a suffocation risk.

 I know regular pads could pose a risk, but what about the new breathable ones?  The purpose of the pads is to protect the baby's head, so he/she doesn't bang their head against the rails, & to keep them from getting their arm stuck in the rails.  Advice please?

katcarls

Some people still use bumpers, breathable and not, but the new recommendation is no bumpers whatsoever.  They don't prevent injuries but they do pose a risk for suffocation, entrapment, etc.  It is true that some cities don't even allow the sale of crib bumpers, Chicago is one example. 

In almost 18 months, DS has gotten his leg stuck between the slats once and he's never banged his head that I know of.  I don't see how a breathable bumper would provide any extra protection in that case anyway.  I'm not planning to buy a crib bumper for this baby.

marnsickle

I bought a breathable bumper. I like the reassurance my babe isn't going to get his little appendages stuck in the crib slates.

corbinsmine

I posted something about this a month or so back. I am not going to use a bumper, not even a breathable. first of all, I think the breathable are just a waste of money considering  I held both up against my mouth and couldnt tell a difference as far as air flow. Also it is adviced by American Pediatrics not to use any bumpers breathable or not bc baby not only has a suffocation risk, but also intrapment and stranglization. So I much rather rist a bump on the head or limb caught than any of these other risk factors.

Monicagail1

We never used any type of bumper in the crib.  I just wasn't comfortable with the idea, and I couldn't find any evidence of the real necessity.  In our case, DD only got a limb "stuck" in the crib slats a few times before she figured out how to avoid it.  It was never really a big deal, IMO.

EveryNameIWantIsTaken

The new recommendation is no bumpers.  That being said, we used a breathable one after ds got his chunky legs stuck repeatedly and we had to go in multiple times many nights in a row to get him unstuck.  We aren't planning on using one right away this time, but if this baby continually gets stuck to the point where it needs our help in the middle of the night we will use the breathable bumper again.

repedrick

We will use a breathable one once baby starts wiggling around in the crib and could get his legs or arms stuck. DD got her legs stuck multiple times- she was flailing around so hard trying to get out I thought she was going to break her leg plus she got so worked up that we had a hard time getting her calmed down and back to sleep.

Flutterbyflyhi

When we were kids, my baby brother broke his wrist when he got his arm caught in between his crib slats.  Having experienced the trauma of a serious injury on an active baby and all of the subsequent scares as he continually ruined cast after cast, in addition to reinjuring his wrist several times in the process, I'm thinking a breathable bumper may not be such a bad idea!