by Hudson Kamphausen and Doug Hardy
HARTFORD, CT – US Sen. Richard Blumenthal applauded major superstore chains last week for suspending sales of weighted sleep sacks, wearable blankets, and swaddles for infants and children, and for removing them from their shelves, but manufacturers have denied any wrongdoing.
The sleep sacks were identified as a hazard last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in a letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The AAP said the products were being sold with no safety standards in place and little to no evidence providing that they are safe.
“The AAP’s most recent recommendations for safe sleep, issued in 2022, state ‘it is recommended that weighted blankets, weighted sleepers, weighted swaddles, or other weighted objects not be placed on or near the sleeping infant,’” the AAP wrote. “The AAP’s recommendations further states that ‘weighted swaddle clothing or weighted objects within swaddles are not safe and therefore not recommended.’ The evidence available at this time does not indicate that weighted swaddle products are safe, nor does it demonstrate that they are effective in helping babies sleep longer or with fewer disruptions.”
The AAP also wrote that “it is hypothesized that impaired arousal may contribute to risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), so a product that decreases arousal may increase the risk of SIDS.”
At an event Friday at the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford, Blumenthal advocated for the recall of weighted sleep sacks that are often marketed to the parents of children under the age of two, reiterating the AAP’s contention that they are a suffocation hazard and that they also impede the growth and development of the children wearing them.
“That’s downright dangerous,” Blumenthal said, later adding that the companies are “playing to a vulnerable audience.”
Blumenthal said the sleep sacks are being marketed to parents that are “simply trying to get their children to sleep,” and that those circumstances were not an excuse for false advertising and exploitation.
Blumenthal said that large chains like Walmart, Target, and Amazon are no longer selling the weighted sleep sacks, and he commended them for doing so.
The sleep sacks are supposed to make babies feel calmer and help them fall asleep faster, according to Dreamland Baby – one of the main manufacturers of the product.
Following the AAP’s letter to the CPSC, Blumenthal sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), imploring the agency to investigate the marketing and advertising practices used by the two main manufacturers of the sleep sacks – Dreamland Baby and Nested Bean.
“I want the United States FTC to uncover and make public the truth about these products,” he said Friday, adding that he believes the recommendation would be that parents avoid using them.
Pediatric Dr. William Gillespie discussed the risks associated with weighted sleep products Friday, May 10, 2024, at the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford. Credit: Screengrab from contributed video / Blumenthal’s office
Blumenthal was joined by Charter Oak Health Center CEO Liany E. Arroyo and Pediatric Dr. William Gillespie, who also advocated for the removal of the products from the market. Gillespie echoed Blumenthal’s remarks and added that no “double-blind” safety studies had been conducted on the products.
Dreamland Baby and Nested Bean have previously denied any safety concerns regarding the sleep sacks and had not reported any incidents attributed to the product.
Dreamland Baby did not agree with Blumenthal’s comments, and said in a statement Monday that it denies any and all of the claims made surrounding false advertising for their products.
“To the contrary, more than sharing Senator Blumenthal’s interests, we have dedicated ourselves to ensuring that our products are both safe and effective and work to communicate in as effective and transparent ways as we can to serve the families who use our products,” the statement read.
Blumenthal said Friday that the products have not been properly vetted for use by small children.
“They say that these products have passed rigorous safety standards – not so,” Blumenthal said. “They say that these kinds of products have no potential danger. But they do.”
NPR reported that Tara Williams, founder and CEO of Dreamland Baby, said she knew of two fatalities involving weighted infant sleep products, but that the autopsy reports for both deaths mentioned unsafe sleep practices and one didn’t mention a weighted product at all.
Blumenthal said Friday that the two manufacturers had still not answered questions he posed to them in a December letter, prompting his follow-up letter to the FTC.
Nested Bean could not be immediately contacted for comment on this story.