Parents are being urged to stop using a baby product immediately and throw it away.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued an urgent safety alert for baby self-feeding pillows. These products are designed to be attached to a bottle so that the baby may be positioned on its back to self-feed without the assistance of anyone holding the bottle and controlling the feed.
However, this is inconsistent with NHS guidance in relation to safe bottle feeding. The OPSS says that when used as intended, even whilst under the supervision of a parent, it could lead to immediate, serious harm or death from choking or aspiration pneumonia.
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A spokesperson said: "A baby, which is the intended user of the product, does not have the dexterity or cognitive ability to control the flow of bottle feed, or to know when to stop feeding, or to take action if it gags or chokes or to otherwise signal or raise alarm if something is going wrong.
"Crucial to this, gagging is characterised by noise and coughing, whereas choking is characterised by silence 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.
"The harm in relation to aspiration pneumonia follows a similar sequence of events, but a choking event does not occur. However, the baby does breathe in liquid which goes on to cause an infection resulting in pneumonia.
"The risks from choking and aspiration pneumonia are entirely related to the design and intended use of the product – these risks cannot be mitigated by instructions." Businesses selling these items are being told they must immediately remove them from the market as they cannot comply with the safety requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
A OPSS spokesperson added: "OPSS has identified that this category of products will always be dangerous due to their design and intended use and can never be made safe. Consumers should immediately stop using these products and dispose of them safely."
Local authority trading standards teams are being told to take appropriate action against businesses that sell baby self-feeding pillows as they do not comply with safety requirements.
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