Drop-side baby cribs could no longer be manufactured, sold or resold in the United States under congressional legislation being proposed this week.
Since 2000, 32 infants and toddlers have suffocated or been strangled in drop-side cribs, which have sides that move up and down to make lifting children in and out easier. Another 14 deaths are suspected, the Associated Press reported.
"There still are thousands and thousands of children who are sleeping every night in drop-side cribs and we need to protect them," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., sponsor of the proposal that would also ban the cribs from day-care centers and hotels.
Seven million of the cribs have been recalled in the past five years and many stores stopped selling them because of safety concerns. Safety pegs, screws or tracking for the side rail can loosen or break, causing the side to drop and trap a child's head between the rail and the mattress, safety experts say.
Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has said the agency intends to make fixed-side cribs mandatory by the end of the year. But it could be well into 2011 before the ruling becomes effective, which is why Gillibrand is involved, the AP said.
Gillibrand described her bill Sunday at a news conference in New York. Two N.Y. counties -- Nassau and Suffolk, on Long Island -- already ban the sale of drop-side cribs, the news service said.
-----Drop-Side Crib Ban Goes Before CongressOriginally from: http://www.nursinglink.monster.com/news/articles/13110-drop-side-crib-ban-goes-before-congress
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