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Your Survivor Bias Regarding Baby Product Recalls Is Problematic and Harmful
by Jamie Taylor
Oct. 1, 2021
Trigger Warning: Child Loss
Parents have expressed outrage since the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled the popular Fisher-Price Rock n’ Play back in 2019. Now, with the Boppy Company recalling over 3.3 million Boppy Loungers linked to eight infant fatalities, a similar wave of misplaced anger is directed towards grieving families.
Unlike the Rock n’ Play, Boppy never marketed their loungers as safe sleep products. Yet, this distinction has been used as a foundation for blaming the parents of the victims. “No way! I have [two] and will keep them for our next child. Best baby product we had with our [first] kid. People need to stop letting their kids sleep unsupervised on products not made for sleep,” one parent commented on a Facebook post from The Boppy Company regarding the recall.
Another mother added, “This is very annoying to me. It’s a LOUNGER!! (I’m so sorry to the babies who passed away, but…) If you let your baby sleep on it without supervision, that’s on you. It’s a great product that doesn’t deserve the bad publicity.”
It’s disheartening that some would prioritize a product being removed from shelves over the tragic loss of eight infants. As someone who has experienced the pain of losing a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), I can tell you that saying you are “very sorry” while adding a “but” is the epitome of victim-blaming and reflects a clear survivor bias.
We all know the feeling of seeing our baby dozing off on the couch, in a swing, or on an adult mattress, and the struggle to resist waking them. It’s a common experience; we may have been distracted or exhausted ourselves. Our attention may have wandered for just a few moments, or we may have weighed the risks against the fleeting peace of quiet. So we ask ourselves, what’s the worst that could happen in such a short time?
When it comes to infant sleep, the stakes are incredibly high. The worst outcome is suffocation—even under parental supervision. If we fail to recognize that this tragedy can happen to anyone, including the most vigilant parents, we are missing a crucial point.
We lack insight into the circumstances surrounding these infant fatalities, and the grieving families have endured enough anguish. Furthermore, we must remember that we live in a society that often promotes unsafe sleep practices for infants.
The situation has reached a point where many parents hesitate to speak out against unsafe sleep practices they observe. The societal “mama knows best” mentality can stifle necessary conversations about safety. While I fully support maternal instincts, certain aspects of parenting, particularly safe sleep, necessitate clear boundaries.
For instance, you often see concerned parents commenting gently on social media, reminding others that babies shouldn’t have pillows in their sleeping areas. Yet, they face backlash as if they’ve harmed someone’s child. Ironically, if that same child were to suffer a tragic accident due to unsafe sleeping arrangements, public perception would likely shift dramatically. As I’ve learned, individuals tend to judge tragedies they’ve been fortunate enough to avoid.
It doesn’t matter that Boppy never intended for their loungers to be used for sleep or that they included significant warning labels in multiple languages. SIDS remains the leading cause of death for infants under one year, and unsafe sleep practices increase the risk of sudden death. So why are products contradicting the Back To Sleep Campaign—an initiative that has reduced SIDS rates by over 50%—still available for purchase? This is misleading for parents and poses an irreparable danger for infants.
If people need someone to direct their frustration towards, they should focus on the infant sleep industry, which generates $325 million annually. This industry markets fluffy pillows and padded crib bumpers for infants, despite pediatricians advising against such products.
“These incidents are heartbreaking,” said Robert S. Adler, Acting Chairman of the CPSC, in a statement about the Boppy recall. “Loungers and pillow-like products are not safe for infant sleep due to the risk of suffocation. Given that infants sleep so often—even in products not intended for sleep—and that suffocation can occur in an instant, these Boppy loungers are simply too risky to remain on the market.”
Babies have no concept of unsafe sleeping environments and spend a significant amount of time sleeping. To suggest that there are safe ways to use a recalled baby product implies that we can monitor them without ever taking our eyes off them, which is not only impractical but also dangerous. Negligent parents aren’t the reason for product recalls; a few errant cases don’t spoil the entire group. Unsafe sleep is always a gamble, and one child’s fortunate outcome does not guarantee another’s safety.
As advocates for safe sleep emphasize: supervised unsafe sleep is still unsafe sleep, and this includes the use of Boppy Loungers.
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Summary
In the wake of baby product recalls, such as the Boppy Lounger linked to infant fatalities, there’s a troubling trend of survivor bias and victim-blaming among parents. Many are quick to defend these products and criticize grieving families, often overlooking the serious risks associated with unsafe sleep environments. This highlights the need to prioritize infant safety over brand loyalty and to challenge societal norms that promote unsafe practices.
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