Urgent Safety Alert: Bottle Propping Pillows

The UK government Office for Product Safety and Standards has issued an urgent safety warning against bottle propping/self feeding pillows.

Due to the safety alert, they are urging the public to stop using them immediately and dispose of them in a way that means they cannot be reused.

The alert has sparked debate online in parenting communities, with many parents glad to see the products taken off sale and pointing out that not only are they unsafe, they also impact on bonding during feeds.

A small number have shared that parents of multiple births may be tempted to use these products or use other methods of bottle propping if their babies need a feed at the same time, and if they're not well supported, which is a more complex lense to look at this topic through but fundamentally, it is not considered a safe feeding method and we'd urge any parent in this situation to reach out to their Health Visitor and any multiple birth organisations for ideas on handling feeding time with more than one baby.

A picture showing an example of an unsafe product taken from the OPSS alert.

Why are they considered unsafe?

The baby self-feeding pillow products that the alert refers to are designed to be attached to a bottle so that a baby positioned on its back can self-feed without a responsible adult holding and controlling the bottle, which goes against the NHS guidance on safe infant feeding and can cause choking, aspiration pneumonia, and in some cases, death. The same applies to using any other item to 'prop' a bottle, not just products designed to do so! You can find out more on the dangers here.

What should businesses selling these products do?

Under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, any businesses selling these products MUST immediately stop selling them as they do not meet legal safety requirements. The OPSS say that this category of products "will always be dangerous due to their design and intended use and can never be made safe" meaning that this is a permanent ban.

What should I do if I own one or see one being sold?

The OPSS says that 'consumers, local authority trading standards services and businesses are asked to take specific action to cease use or remove these products from the market' - this means stop using and safely dispose, and report any retailer to Trading Standards immediately. Also, please don't prop bottles using anything else as bottle propping is considered unsafe no matter how it is done.

Find the OPSS warning here.