Why the celebrity-backed ‘designer’ baby crib trend could be deadly: Experts warn about the craze for decorating newborns’ cribs with pillows and stuffed animals — and what to do instead

A celebrity-backed ‘designer’ baby cot trend could put babies at risk of breaking limbs and even suffocating, a top midwife has warned.

The new social media craze sees parents decorating their newborns’ cribs with an array of pillows, stuffed animals and blankets.

Bumpers – pieces of padded fabric designed to wrap around the side of a crib to prevent baby feet from getting stuck in the bars – are another popular addition.

Videos promoting crib accessories on TikTok have racked up millions of views. And the trend has some high-profile proponents, including social media influencer Khloe Kardashian – Kim Kardashian’s sister – who has more than 300 million followers.

In 2018, Khloe shared photos on Instagram of her four-month-old daughter True’s crib, which contained a Hermes blanket, a large teddy bear and a collection of pillows.

But midwife Clare Byam-Cook, who regularly gives new mothers health advice on TV and radio, fears parents following the trend are unwittingly putting their babies at risk.

‘There should be nothing in the bed other than a blanket; anything else is unnecessary and could pose a danger to the baby,” she says.

‘Anything that is loose can trap the baby and pose a choking hazard, as can anything with strings attached that could become loose and come within their reach.

“Parents no doubt mean well, but it’s not worth taking a risk if it puts your child at risk.”

The warning comes after a west London coroner issued an urgent statement last week on the dangers of trendy baby slings, following the death of a baby.

Six-week-old Jimmy Alderman was being breastfed by his mother in a ‘hands-free’ baby carrier as she walked around their home when he slipped too far into the sling and suffocated.

Coroner Lydia Brown criticized the lack of safety information for parents around babywearing and called for better industry standards. Experts say similar warnings should be issued to prevent parents from filling baby cots with potentially dangerous items.

The Lullaby Trust, a charity that provides advice on safer sleeping for babies, says parents should keep cots completely clear apart from a lightweight sheet, and that unnecessary items increase the risk of accidents and death.

Research shows that an overcrowded cot can also increase the risk of cot death – also known as sudden infant death syndrome – which kills almost 200 babies in Britain every year.

But this hasn’t stopped a growing number of parents from filling their cots with designer products.

Videos of cribs decorated with pillows and toys have become extremely popular on TikTok, often being shared tens of thousands of times

A TikTok post with a crib decorated with a pink canopy and matching pillows and throws

A TikTok from an accessories company that has been viewed more than 122,000 times shows a crib with a baby mobile dangling so low that the strings can touch the baby’s face. The risk – especially with mobile phones bought online – is that pieces can become loose, Ms Byam-Cook explains.

‘It’s the same with any baby toy. “If you buy them on the Internet, you have no guarantee that there won’t be pieces that come loose that the baby could choke on,” she says.

In another video, which has been viewed almost 40,000 times, an American babycare influencer shows her two-month-old baby in a small bed filled with pillows, bumpers and a baby mobile dangling just inside his hand.

“Moms, if you’re planning on getting a crib, make sure you also get this hanging toy,” she says. ‘It helped me enormously. At this age they enjoy watching it.’

And in a third, similar video that has been viewed more than 70,000 times, another influencer equips a crib with bumpers, a pillow and a duvet.

Experts say one of the most common mistakes parents make is putting pillows in a crib. “You should absolutely not put pillows in the crib because there is a suffocation hazard,” says Ms Byam-Cook.

‘Babies don’t need pillows, and neither do toddlers. You only increase the risk that they will lie on their face and not be able to turn around.’

The same goes for bumpers. Parents often worry that their baby will get their leg or arm stuck between the bars of their crib, but if they do, they can free themselves or cry out, alerting the parents to sort things out.

Although bumpers are sold as a way to prevent this, they can actually make the problem worse because they make it more difficult for a child to free themselves when trapped between the bars and the fabric.

‘There is also the risk of the baby sliding down between the bumper and the mattress and suffocating, and his head becoming entangled

in any loose cords that hold it in place and strangle itself,” says Ms Byam-Cook.

She adds that the same goes for heavy blankets, even if they are placed on the crib’s railing. ‘Even a muslin should not be draped on the side of the baby’s crib, in case the baby gets tangled and suffocated.’

However, parents still need to make sure their baby is warm enough when they put him to bed.

Ms Byam-Cook explains: ‘On the other hand, some parents are so afraid to use blankets and duvets, for fear of suffocating the baby, that they are put to sleep without enough layers.

‘A larger sleep suit may be the solution, or just make sure that the used blanket is tucked very tightly under the baby so that he cannot slip under it. It can be a minefield, but if you err on the side of caution, your baby will be fine.”