The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has warned that pillows sold for babies should never be bought as they could actually cause the child to suffocate.
The CCPC has demanded the removal of thousands of online listings but said many parents seem unaware of the dangers such devices pose to their baby.
The advice from the HSE is clear that, “Pillows and cushions should not be in the cot as they could suffocate your baby.”
On Newstalk Breakfast, CCPC spokesperson Grainne Griffin said so-called ‘baby pillows’ simply “should not exist”.
“Babies do not need pillows,” she explained.
“Not only do babies not need pillows, putting a pillow in a cot is actually fundamentally unsafe - the HSE have such clear information on this.
“You don't put anything soft or squishy or anything like that in a cot with a child, you just put them down in a cot, clear of obstacles and let them go to sleep.
“But what we're seeing is that these are being made and they are being marketed to parents.”
However, despite clear warning from experts, Ms Griffin said a variety of so-called ‘baby pillows’ continue to be sold online.
“There are pillows with little cushioned arms on them that are meant to kind of pat the back of your baby,” she described.
“There are pillows shaped like animals, there are pillows that are extra fluffy.
“The thing that they all have in common is that they are being marketed to parents as this will help your baby sleep better.
“I think that's what's so sinister about it, because I think every parent out there will remember just how hard it is in the early days of trying to get a child to sleep and if this is coming up when you're shopping online, you could easily click and buy it.”
Ms Griffin urged parents to be “on their guard” and said the CCPC continues to instruct platforms and instructed them to take down all the products.
She added that there is a “high rates of compliance” and the CCPC treats the issue as a “priority”, given how vulnerable babies are.
Main image: A mother with her baby. Picture by: Alamy.com.
