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 Infants often fall asleep in carriers, carriages, and strollers that are made for infants but that are not specifically designed for sleep. These kinds of products are discussed in detail in the chapter about travelling with infants and children (Chapter 6). Manufacturers assume that caregivers will be nearby when carriers, carriages, strollers, and similar products are in use, so these products may not have all the safety features necessary for an infant to sleep safely while unattended. Once you get home, then, unless you can keep your sleeping baby within your view, you should transfer the baby to his crib.

Caregivers often allow infants and young children to sleep in playpens as well. Although a playpen can be a safe sleep location, I always recommend that a sleeping infant be moved to a crib. Playpens are covered by a voluntary standard, which has recently been changed to address two trapping hazards that had claimed the lives of several infants: the pocket created by drop-side mesh playpens and the Vshaped area created by collapsed playpens.

How can unsafe products be manufactured when a safety standard is in place? Say a design engineer has a new idea for a product, such as using mesh sides for a playpen. It may not be possible to fully test the safety of the new design, because the standard doesn’t include provisions that are specific enough. In the case of mesh-sided playpens, the standard at the time did not contain a testing method for this new design. Unfortunately, in some cases, it is only after a product is on the market that a hazard becomes obvious. Because unsafe products can make it into the market despite safety regulations and standards, it is important for parents and other caregivers to report unsafe products, pay attention to product recalls, and use infants’ and children’s products that meet current standards.