Weighted infant sleepwear is meant to help babies rest better. Critics say it's risky

A growing number of doctors and safe sleep advocates are warning about the potential dangers of weighted sleepwear for infants. (Oscar Wong/Getty Images)

From pacifiers to white noise machines, there is a bevy of products marketed toward notoriously tired new parents that claim to calm babies and help them sleep better.

Among some of the newer offerings are weighted infant sleepwear such as swaddles and sleep sacks that — like weighted blankets for adults — are touted as a way to reduce anxiety and have a soothing effect on the wearer.