Nursing Pillows Linked To At Least 162 Infant Deaths, New Report Finds

A new analysis of more than 15 years of public records and federal data by NBC News has led to a disturbing discovery about a common nursery item. The outlet found that nursing pillows — U-shaped pillows meant to facilitate breastfeeding — have been associated with at least 162 infant deaths since 2007. These tragedies were, the news outlet claims, “neither isolated nor unavoidable.”

Circumstances among these cases varied from family to family, but usually happened when the baby was placed to sleep on or near the pillow. In a number of instances, a baby’s position on the pillow, either slumped down or arched backward constricted their airways and lead to their death. In others they suffocated when their faces turned toward the pillow and they couldn’t move away. At least three incidents occurred when a nursing parent fell asleep while breastfeeding with the assistance of such a pillow.

Nursing pillows have been around since 1989 when Susan Brown invented the Boppy. In those days, slightly only half of new moms breastfed their babies for any amount of time. Data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that as of 2022, more than 80% of new moms at least attempt breastfeeding and more than 55% continue to nurse to 6 months of age. As such, nursing pillows — which facilitate breastfeeding by placing the baby in a position that makes feeding more comfortable — are considered by many new parents to be a baby registry must-have. The industry estimates that approximately 1.34 million such pillows from brands like Boppy, FridaMom, and Dock-A-Tot, among others, and are sold per year in the United States. To put that number into perspective, approximately 3.7 million babies were born in 2021, so it’s reasonable to assume that about 1/3 of American-born babies have been nestled on a nursing pillow at some point.

Nursing pillows like this have been associated with more than 160 infant deaths.

While these products generally warn against unsupervised use in their materials and websites, NBC News suggests some of the marketing may lead to misunderstandings and accidents. Suggesting the product can be used as a lounger, for example, or for tummy time, can lead to unsupervised use which in turn can lead to tragedy. The outlet’s report includes language from Boppy touting the pillow’s “range of versatile uses,” though verbiage no longer appears on the company’s website. (The link used in the NBC News report now includes language explicitly warning against using the Boppy for infant sleep). Leachco also includes a warning against using its pillows as sleep products, but as of press time still describes its Cuddle-U pillow as “multipurpose,” appropriate for tummy time and lounging.

Federal regulators at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) did not put out a warning of their own until 2020.

“Each year, almost a thousand infants tragically suffocate in their sleep,” the CPSC wrote in October 2020. “CPSC is warning parents and caregivers that pillow-like infant products, including nursing pillows and ‘lounging pads,’ are not designed for sleep and are not safe for sleep. ... The initial assessment of incidents shows deaths when children are left on or near pillows, and the child rolls over, rolls off, or falls asleep.”

This first warning was also their last. NBC News reports that since this statement was issued, at least 36 babies have died.

Earlier this year, NBC News found, through a similar data analysis, that infant loungers have also been associated with more deaths than previously believed. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D, CT) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, (D-Illinois) have since urged federal regulators to take action against these products. Neither loungers nor nursing pillows were included in President Joe Biden’s 2022 Safe Sleep For Babies Act, which prohibited the sale of crib bumpers and inclined sleepers (like the Fischer-Price Rock-N-Play, which was recalled in 2019). While the CPSC currently has a dedicated infant pillow task group seeking to address the safety of both loungers and feeding support pillows, they have not yet taken regulatory action.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all infants should sleep on flat and firm surfaces, by themselves, without any bumpers, soft bedding, pillows, or stuffed toys.