For years now, parents have been advised that bumper pads in the crib are not a great idea. But with no one explicitly stating that the pads shouldn't be used, they're still everywhere. In fact with so many stores selling them, many parents are likely unaware that the pads have been linked to suffocation deaths.

While bumper pad sets like these might look adorable, they’re probably not worth the risk, an influential group of U.S. pediatricians now believes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines this week on safe sleep for babies, stately explicitly for the first time that parents should not use bumper pads in their babies’ cribs.

“Because there is no evidence that bumper pads or similar products that attach to crib slats or sides prevent injury in young infants and because there is the potential for suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation, these products are not recommended,” the academy states in their new “Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment.”

The academy noted that although the number of deaths linked to sudden infant death syndrome has declined in the last two decades, sleep-related deaths from suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia have increased (SIDS refers to unexplained deaths, not sudden deaths that are later attributed to suffocation.)

In 2005 -- the last time the AAP addressed the issue of bumper pads --, they said that if bumpers were used, they should be “thin, firm, well secured and not pillow-like.”

“Pillow-like”? What does that even mean? No wonder parents have been confused.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association has long argued that bumper pads are not a significant risk factor for infant death when used properly. It has disputed evidence that suggests the pads can cause babies to suffocate.

In September, 2007, a study in The Journal of Pediatrics examined 27 deaths linked to crib bumper pads between 1985 and 2005. The study found:

• 11 of the infants likely died by suffocation when their face pressed up against the bumper pads
• 13 infants died when they became wedged between the bumper pad and another object, like the crib mattress
• 3 infants died when they were strangled by a bumper tie.

The authors concluded that while the pads can prevent injuries from babies getting their limbs stuck in crib slats, that doesn’t outweigh their risks.

"These findings suggest that crib and bassinet bumpers are dangerous. Their use prevents only minor injuries. Because bumpers can cause death, we conclude that they should not be used,” they wrote.

In it s new guidelines this week, the AAP now recommends that infants sleep on their backs, alone in a crib, without any soft objects or loose bedding in the crib -- and without bumper pads.

Though the pads haven’t been explicitly banned or recalled, it’ll now be interesting to see whether retailers stop selling them -- and whether consumers avoid them.

Sleep positioners unsafe too

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it’s working to prevent manufacturers of baby sleep products from claiming their products prevent or lower the chance of SIDS. These products include infant positioners, mattresses, crib bedding, pillows, crib tents and baby monitors.

“The agency has never approved a product to prevent SIDS -- the unexplained death of a baby younger than age 1 -- and is asking manufacturers to stop marketing their products with these claims until they have received FDA clearance or approval, or to change their labeling to remove all medical claims,” the FDA says.

The FDA said it’s aware of 13 infant deaths in the past 13 years associated with sleep positioners.

Dr. Susan Cummins, chief pediatric medical officer in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health says “these products are absolutely not necessary and they can be very dangerous.”

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