An urgent safety alert has been issued about using baby self-feeding pillows with people being warned to stop using or selling them immediately.
The warning has been issued by the Office for Product Safety and Standards and is being backed by Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards and public health teams.
Parents and carers are being told to stop using them straight away and dispose of them safely, and businesses are being warned to remove them from sale immediately as they do not meet safety regulations.
Baby self-feeding pillows, also known as prop feeders, are designed to be attached to a bottle so that a baby can be placed on its back to self-feed without anyone having to hold the bottle or the baby, or control the feed.
This is against NHS guidance and it is feared that even under supervision, using a self-feeding pillow could lead to immediate serious harm or death from choking or aspiration pneumonia.
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for health and communities Councillor Carol Hart said: “We are appealing to parents and care givers across Derbyshire who may be using a self-feeding pillow to stop using them immediately and throw them away.
“They can be extremely dangerous to babies and could cause serious harm or even death.
“We’re also urging businesses that may be selling these products to remove them from the shelves today and not to continue selling them. They do not comply with product safety law and it would be a serious matter for traders to breach this.”
Anyone wanting to report an unsafe item or sellers of such items can contact Derbyshire County Council Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service at www.citizensadvice.org.uk or telephone 0808 223 1133.