⚠️ Risk of nappy bags and suffocation for infants and young people
Nappy sacks warning
🖐️ Young babies under 6 months naturally grasp things and pull them to their mouths, but then find it difficult to let go.
🖐️ As nappy sacks are very thin, they can cling to a baby’s face as they breathe in and result in suffocation or choking.
🖐️ Keep nappy sacks well out of reach of children and never put them in a buggy or cot.
Suffocation | Child Accident Prevention Trust
Babies and young children don’t have the control that adults have over their bodies. They can wriggle and squirm but it is harder for them to move out of a dangerous situation.
Advice for Parents
Babies can suffocate on nappy sacks, making some simple changes can make a big difference to your child’s safety.
To avoid danger of suffocation and choking:
Do
- Always keep nappy sacks and other plastic bags and wrapping away from babies and young children
Do not
- Place nappy sacks within babies’ reach
- Place nappy sacks in a baby’s cot, pram or buggy
What is a nappy sack?
- Nappy sacks are disposable, often perfumed, plastic bags into which soiled nappies are placed after removal from babies and prior to disposal in the main household bin.
- They tend to be made of very thin coloured plastic.
- Often 100-200 sacks in a packet (approx 0.01p per sack)
- The sacks are usually separate rather than on a roll.
- The risk of this potential hazard is increased by the lack of a mandatory suffocation warning advice on the packaging.
Why are babies at risk?
Babies are at particular risk of suffocation and choking from plastic sheets and bags for a number of reasons:
- They cannot understand the risks associated with their actions
- They seek to explore the world around them by, among other actions, putting articles in their mouth to experience taste and texture
- They do not have the manual dexterity to remove a thin plastic covering that is “adhering” to their face or is in their mouth
- Parents are not aware of the risks associated with nappy sacks.
RoSPA- Nappy sacks safety | RoSPA’s guide to safe use and prevention
Nappy sacks are disposable, often perfumed, plastic bags into which soiled nappies are placed after removal from babies and prior to disposal. They tend to be made of very thin coloured plastic.
Nappy sacks: Danger on the changing mat
Most of us have heard about keeping carrier bags away from babies and little children because of the risk of suffocation. But what about nappy sacks?
SAFETY NOTICE: Nappy sacks – National Child Mortality Database
Nappy sacks can be dangerous to babies and young children