Mothercare and Tesco stop selling baby sleep positioners after they're linked to infant deaths

The product can suffocation and lead to death according to US health regulator

Baby sleep positioners have been removed from some shops in the UK, amid concerns that they can cause suffocation and lead to death.

The positioners are used by some parents to keep their babies in a specific position while sleeping and are aimed for infants younger than six months.

But now new safety concerns about the product have emerged after a US regulator revealed they've been linked to 12 infant deaths in the past.

According to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, the items have caused babies to suffocate 'after rolling from their sides to their stomachs,' they said in a statement.

The baby sleep positioners have already been withdrawn from several UK retailers

According to the BBC, UK retailers have also started to follow the FDA's advice, with Tesco and Mothercare removing sleep positioners from their shops.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: 'We have removed these products from our website as a precautionary measure. These products were available online only, not in-store. These products were sold by a third party on the Tesco website, not sold by Tesco itself.'

eBay also confirmed to the Daily Mail that they will no longer be selling sleep positioners, saying: 'Following recent recommendations by US authorities, items of this nature will now be prohibited from being sold on our platform. Our team will be informing sellers and removing any listings that contravene our policies.'

John Lewis has also promised to pull the controversial products, the same paper reports.

The Lullaby Trust advise against products that are meant to keep your baby in the same position, such as wedges or straps.

According to the charity, the safest way to get babies to sleep is to put them in their cots, which should be kept as clear as possible. They specifically advise against having pillows or duvets, cot bumpers, soft toys or loose bedding.

GoodtoKnow

Trusted, informative, and empathetic – GoodToKnow is the ultimate online destination for mums. Established in 2007, our 15-year-strong archive of content includes more than 18,000 articles, 1,500 how-to videos, and 7,000 recipes.