EnglandHealth and safetyGood to know

Safety alert issued for baby sleeping bags with hoods or no armholes

The Office for Product Safety and Standards says these bags can cause suffocation and overheating, and advises childcare settings not to buy or use them.

An empty white cot with a firm, flat mattress and nothing else inside. — Stock photo, for illustration

Hubba TrainingOfficial sources

Published 1 October 20262 min read

At a glance

UK baby sleeping bag recalls or safety reports since 2023

The Office for Product Safety and Standards issued a safety alert for baby sleeping bags with hoods or no armholes.
The main harms are suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death, the alert says.
The alert follows nearly 50 recalls or product safety reports for dangerous baby sleeping bags in the UK since 2023.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a safety alert for baby sleeping bags that have no armholes or include a hood.

The alert includes advice for childcare and education settings. It is not specific to England, but it is relevant to nurseries and childminders in England who care for babies.

Why these bags are dangerous

OPSS said baby sleeping bags without armholes or with a hood pose a serious risk of harm. The main harms are suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death.

Without armholes to keep a baby in position, a baby may slip down into the bag and the material may cover their nose and mouth. A hood may also cover a baby's nose and mouth as the material moves.

OPSS also warned that materials that are heat retentive or enclose a baby's head stop heat escaping, so a baby can get too hot if left for too long. It said there is a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) if a baby overheats.

The alert follows nearly 50 recalls or product safety reports for dangerous baby sleeping bags in the UK since 2023, according to OPSS.

What settings are advised to do

OPSS gives the same advice to consumers and to childcare and education settings:

Do not buy or use a baby sleeping bag that lacks armholes or which includes a hood.
If the product was marketed for unsupervised baby sleep, contact the business that supplied it, as you may be entitled to redress.

The alert covers bags marketed or intended for babies to sleep in unsupervised in a crib or cot. It does not include items designed to be worn in a pram, such as a pramsuit or muff, or products designed specifically to swaddle a baby.

It also does not apply to baby sleeping bags that meet the voluntary standard BS EN 16781:2018.

OPSS said the Advertising Standards Authority had also warned parents and carers that day about online ads for baby products that claim to help with colic, reflux, sleep and soothing.

The alert links to NHS guidance on safer sleep for babies and on reducing the risk of SIDS.

For your setting

What this means for your setting

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You may want to check every baby sleeping bag used in your setting, including any brought from home, for armholes and no hood.
OPSS advises settings not to use any bag that has no armholes or has a hood, and to contact the supplier if it was marketed for unsupervised baby sleep.
When buying new sleeping bags, you may want to choose ones that meet BS EN 16781:2018, as the alert does not apply to these.
You may want to share the alert with parents, as OPSS is advising parents and carers not to buy, and to stop using, these products.
This is a good moment to review your safe sleep policy against the NHS safer sleep guidance the alert links to.

Tick things off as you go. Your ticks are kept in this browser only.

Does this apply in Scotland? This safety alert is not specific to England, so settings elsewhere in the UK may also find it useful.

Useful for your team?Share it with your staff, or print it for the staff room.

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence.

At a glance

UK baby sleeping bag recalls or safety reports since 2023

The Office for Product Safety and Standards issued a safety alert for baby sleeping bags with hoods or no armholes.
The main harms are suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death, the alert says.
The alert follows nearly 50 recalls or product safety reports for dangerous baby sleeping bags in the UK since 2023.