Published on GOV.UK:
Baby Sleeping Bags: product safety alert
- Check
- This alert covers every product of this type, whatever the brand.
Product
- Product type
- Baby Sleeping Bags
- Description
- ‘Baby Sleeping Bags’ are products which are marketed or intended to be used as bags for babies to sleep in unsupervised, when in a crib or cot. This does not include items designed to be worn in a pram such as a pramsuit or muff. This alert does not apply to products designed specifically to swaddle a baby. This Product Safety Alert does not apply to Baby Sleeping Bags that meet voluntary standard BS EN 16781:2018 (safety requirements and test methods for children’s sleep bags for use in a cot).
Hazard
- Details
- Baby sleeping bags are not safe to be used for babies to sleep in or to be placed in, unsupervised, if they lack arm holes or include a hood. Some dangerous baby sleeping bags lack armholes and include a hood. Baby sleeping bags that lack arm holes or include a hood pose a serious risk of harm. The main harms are suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death in babies. Suffocation and asphyxiation: without armholes to retain a child in position, a baby may slip into the sleeping bag and the material may cover a baby’s nose and mouth, which could result in asphyxia leading to serious or even fatal harm. Similarly, due to natural movement of the material, a hood may cover a baby’s nose and mouth, which can lead to suffocation or asphyxiation. Overheating: materials that are heat retentive and/or enclose a baby’s head will prevent heat from escaping and a baby can get too hot if left for too long. There is a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome if a baby overheats.
- What the alert advises
- Not all Baby Sleeping Bags are safe Only buy or use a baby sleeping bag that has arm holes and no hood 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, you should contact the business that supplied the product; you may be entitled to redress under the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
What to do
- This alert is not about one brand or model but a type of product. Check whether you use one at home and follow what the alert advises above.
Have a product that seems unsafe? Find out how to report it
Official source
- Reference
- PSA9
- Notified by
- Office for Product Safety and Standards
- On The Baby Blog since
- 10 November 2026