Drop side crib safety information

In a slightly ironic statement the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes, "While cribs, bassinets and play yards are the safest places to place your baby to sleep, nearly 9 million cribs and numerous bassinets and play yards have been recalled since 2007." Um, does anyone else find this odd? Most health organizations frown big time on co-sleeping, as does, obviously the CPSC, yet how many parents have been recalled for co-sleeping? Really? I think that statement above pretty clearly points out that cribs are not entirely the safest place for your baby. In fact, CPSC has issued 11+ recalls in the past 5 years of more than 7 million drop-side cribs associated with suffocation and strangulation hazards. AND over the last 9 years, the CPSC reported 32 infant and toddler deaths due to suffocation and strangulation as well as hundreds of additional incidents that were caused by or related to detached drop-sides in cribs from a variety of manufacturers. An additional 14 infant fatalities due to entrapment in cribs may have been related to a drop-side, although the information obtained by the CPSC was insufficient to determine this conclusively. With this in mind, I'm not saying that ALL cribs suck. I get that some parents do want a crib. if you are interested in owning a crib, here are some safety tips... According to the CPSC, drop-side cribs are less structurally sound than fixed-side cribs, especially when you're dealing with older cribs. The CPSC identified three main problems associated with older drop-side cribs:

1. The longer a crib is in use, the greater the wear and tear on joints and hardware, allowing plastic parts to flex and break and screws to loosen and fall out.
2. Repeated assembly and disassembly increases the likelihood of loss or damage to crib parts.
3. Over time, glue can become brittle and wood can warp and shrink, leading to joint and slat failure.

Basically, the newer the better when it comes to cribs. The failure of drop-side hardware can pose entrapment and suffocation hazards for your baby if he rolls or moves into the space created by the partially detached drop-side. Babies can also potentially strangle in the "V" shape formed by a drop-side that has detached from an upper corner of the crib. In my opinion the safest cribs are not drop-side but fixed sides. If you want a crib choose a crib without drop-sides. Visit the CPSC: For images of the suffocation and entrapment hazards posed by drop-side detachment