Drop-side cribs have been responsible for 32 deaths over the past nine years and suspected in 14 others, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports.

As part of its effort to rid homes of unsafe cribs, the agency is again warning about the hazards of drop-side cribs. In the last five years, the CPSC has announced 11 recalls involving more than 7 million drop-side cribs due to suffocation and strangulation hazards. The latest recall was made earlier this month.

Of the 32 deaths associated with the cribs, the CPSC said that some occurred in cribs where the drop side detached without caregivers noticing, while others occurred after a parent tried to repair the detached drop side, but the repair failed. In other incidents, crib owners unknowingly installed the drop side or drop-side hardware incorrectly. This may have occurred because of incorrect or confusing directions. In such cases, the drop side appeared to work as intended, but the stress on the crib hardware resulted in the drop side detaching.

When the drop-side is loose or detaches, it causes a gap between the mattress and the side that can entrap a child. The CPSC's technical staff has determined that drop-side cribs tend to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides. For that reason, the agency is working on a standard that will ban drop-side cribs from the U.S. market, among other safety improvements.

Age and repeated assembly puts wear and tear on a crib's hardware and joints, allowing screws to loosen and fall out and plastic parts to flex and break. The CPSC reminds parents not to use any crib with missing, broken or loose parts and to make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy.

Concerned about the safety of drop-side cribs, The Consumers Union no longer recommends their purchase and is working with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on legislation that would make the sale of drop-side cribs illegal. CU applauded the CPSC for issuing this warning, but also cautions parents that cribs still provide a far safer sleeping environment for babies than adult beds.

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