A heartbreaking report in the local newspaper this week serves as a sad reminder of why we have long discouraged the use of all soft bedding, including pillows and bumper pads, in cribs and bassinets.

According to the Journal News, Westchester County (N.Y.) officials are warning parents about the use of crescent-shaped infant and nursing pillows after the pillows were found in the cribs of three county children who died in 2006. While the cause of death in all three cases was determined by the Medical Examiner to be the result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a report by the county's Child Fatality Review Team said it was significant that each case involved the improper use of a crescent-shaped pillow in the infant’s sleeping environment.

Two of the deaths involved infants found propped up or resting in some fashion on crescent-shaped pillows. A third case involved the death of a child in a crib with a crescent-shaped pillow in close proximity to the child.

Crescent pillows are intended for nursing mothers and include the popular Boppy, which says on its web site, “We do not recommend using any of the Boppy pillow products for babies while sleeping.”

Because such warnings too often go unheeded, we'd like to remind parents once again that when it comes to bassinets and cribs, bare is best.  Don't buy puffy or padded bumper guards, sleep positioners, pillows, quilts, duvets or stuffed animals for your baby's crib. Experts have long recognized the suffocation risk inherent in such soft crib bedding.