Drop-side cribs to be banned worldwide

OTTAWA – Drop-side cribs will no longer be sold in Canada and elsewhere now that the world’s standards organization has come down against them in wake of multiple baby deaths.

The new safety standards, to be published as early as next week by ASTM International, come as parents brace for a massive recall of drop-side cribs, to be announced Tuesday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a government source told Canwest News Service.

Over 4.6 million other cribs, some blamed for the suffocation deaths of babies, have already been recalled in the U.S. since 2007; in Canada, more than 500,000 have been recalled.

"The latest designation of the crib standard . . . no longer contains provisions that allow movable side rails on full size cribs," Len Morrissey, director of ASTM International’s technical division, said Monday.

Retail giant Toys ‘R’ Us, anticipating the change in cribs standards, already stopped ordering drop-side cribs from manufacturers in March "out of an abundance of caution." Company spokeswoman Jennifer Albano added she expects inventory to be gone from all Canadian and U.S. stores by next month.

Meanwhile, almost every drop-side crib that has been shipped to Sears Canada since October by its main supplier, Stork Craft, has been modified so that all drop sides are permanently fixed in the up position, unable to move up and down.

Spokesman Vincent Power said the chain continues to sell one model of a drop-side crib by another supplier, but Sears Canada expects the inventory to be sold by year’s end and no more have been ordered. Also, all cribs profiled in the next spring catalogue will be non-drop side.

ASTM International’s new standards, approved officially on Nov. 15, are considered voluntary safety guidelines, but manufacturers are expected to follow them because the major industry players were involving in their development and signed off on the proposal in March.

Drop-side cribs have been popular with parents over the years, especially with people who are short or people with bad backs. But government regulators, charged with investigating the deaths of babies in these cribs, have noticed a problem with the rail that moves up and down, designed to help parents place their child in the crib or take them out.

Kiley Johnstone and her husband liked the drop-side feature of the crib they purchased over a year ago in anticipation of the arrival of their first child. And today, they use it every day for their 13-month old son.

"He’s really heavy and he’s a year (old) now, so he has to be on the lower setting. It’s really hard on the back to get him down there," said Johnstone.

The plastic hardware on drop-side cribs can break or deform over time, causing the drop side to detach. And when the drop side detaches, it creates space between the drop side and the crib mattress. If an infant and toddler rolls into this space, they can become entrapped and suffocate.

Crib regulations in Canada and the U.S. still allow the sale of drop-side cribs, but ASTM’s move to make full-sized cribs with a drop-side a violation of voluntary safety standards means a de facto ban is coming into effect.

ASTM International, based in Pennsylvania, is one of the world’s largest standards developing organizations and prides itself on developing consensus standards. The independent organization, which includes over 140 technical committees, publishes standard test methods and specifications for thousands of products, including cribs, paints, medical devices and electronics.

There are over 32,000 voluntary members from 125 countries, including Canada.

Most recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in July recalled "dangerous" Simplicity drop-sides following the suffocation death of a baby in Texas.

Health Canada followed up two weeks later to tell parents to immediately stop using the drop-side crib, also sold in Canada. In the wake of the U.S. recall, the Montreal-based importer of the crib, Elfe Juvenile Products, had told parents in Canada it would provide a repair kit to fix the suffocation hazard, but Health Canada determined the kit did not adequately correct the hazard and announced consumers could receive a store credit from retailers.

In Canada, the federal government does not have the power to recall consumer products and instead must rely on manufacturers or distributors to initiate a voluntary recall. There is legislation currently before the Senate to give Health Canada recall powers. The bill received unanimous support in the House of Commons earlier this year.