Why Baby Loungers and Support Pillows Are About to Get Safer

When the rule takes effect, in spring 2025, companies that make these cushions and pillows will have to adhere to stricter design requirements and conduct more testing to ensure their products pose less risk of suffocation, entrapment, and falls. As a result of the rule, the CPSC says, “most” infant support cushions currently on the market, sold by more than 2,000 suppliers, will have to be redesigned. 

“For years, baby loungers and similar products have been marketed and sold to parents for different types of uses, from lounging to positioning babies for sleep, with few guardrails in place,” says Oriene Shin, policy counsel for Consumer Reports. “Countless parents and caregivers reasonably assumed that these products were safe for babies when in reality they came with a serious risk of injury or death. We applaud the CPSC for approving this new safety standard that makes the marketplace much safer and easier to navigate.”

The broad category of infant support cushions covers just about any soft and squishy thing you can imagine using with a baby, including “infant loungers, infant head positioner pillows, infant sleep positioners and anti-rollover pillows, crib pillows, wedge pillows for infants, stuffed toys or pads and mats marketed for use as infant support cushions, multi-purpose pillows marketed for both nursing and lounging, and tummy time pillows,” according to the CPSC’s press release.