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The Parent Report: The Dangers Of Using Sleep Positioners

BOSTON (CBS) - Government officials are advising parents against using a certain device that is supposed to keep a baby safe while sleeping.

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They're supposed to hold babies in place when sleeping in a crib, but they can be deadly. They're called sleep positioners and they're used to keep babies on their backs while sleeping. But Nikki Fleming of the Consumer Product Safety Commission says those sleep positioners can be dangerous.

In recent years, the CPSC has received reports of a dozen infants between the ages of 1 month and 4 months who suffocated while in sleep positioners or became trapped between a sleep positioner and the side of a crib or bassinet.

Fleming has advice on how babies should be placed in a crib for safe sleeping.

The two main types of infant sleep positioners are flat mats with side bolsters or inclined wedge mats with side bolsters.

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