Urgent warning over safety of popular baby feeding product: ‘They pose risk of serious harm or death’
Health chiefs have urged new parents to ‘immediately stop’ using a popular baby feeding product over fears it may pose a ‘risk of serious harm or death’.
Self-feeding devices are designed to enable babies to feed with little or no assistance from their carer.
But a new product, in which the pillow section is shaped like an animal’s head, could raise the risk of choking or suffering aspiration pneumonia — when food or liquids get sucked into the airway — the Office for Product Safety and Standards said.
Trading standards chiefs warned that all baby self-feeding products are dangerous due to their design and can never be made safe, regardless of any changes to their appearance.
Businesses were also urged to remove all such products from the market given they do not comply with safety requirements.
An Office for Product Safety and Standards spokesman said: ‘A new variant of dangerous baby self-feeding products has appeared where the pillow part is shaped like an animal’s head.
‘These types of products are designed to enable babies to bottle feed with little or no assistance from the caregiver.
‘This is inconsistent with guidance from the NHS in relation to safe bottle feeding.
Self-feeding devices are designed to enable babies to feed with little or no assistance from their carer. But they could raise the risk of choking or suffering aspiration pneumonia
‘When used as intended, even while under the supervision of a caregiver, this could lead to serious harm or death from choking or aspiration pneumonia.
‘Consumers should immediately stop using these products and dispose of them safely.
‘Businesses must immediately remove these products from the market as they cannot comply with the safety requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.’
The warning also follows a previous safety alert regarding self-feeding pillows in November 2022.
At the time the Office for Product Safety and Standards said babies do not have the ability to control the flow of bottle feed, or to know when to stop feeding, raising their risk of choking or aspiration pneumonia.
Equally, they are unable to signal or raise the alarm when gagging or choking.
While gagging is often apparent through noise and coughing, choking is silent because of the blockage to the airway.
The most common reason for babies to choke on feed is because the liquid is being dispensed faster than it can swallow.
Aspiration pneumonia, meanwhile, can occur after the baby breathes in liquid causing an infection resulting in pneumonia.
Symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing up blood or pus, chest pain, bad breath, and extreme tiredness.
Aspiration pneumonia is generally treated with antibiotics and ozygen therapy.
