Maryland will be the first state to ban the sale of crib bumper pads statewide beginning Friday.
Crib bumper pads offer no benefit but pose potentially serious risks to infants, including suffocation and death, state health officials said.
The Journal of Pediatrics reports 27 accidental deaths attributed to bumper pads.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health advise against using the bumpers.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene first adopted the new policy in November.
Violation of the ban will result in a fine if the bumpers are sold.
The ban is part of an ongoing public effort to educate parents to keep cribs free of all soft bedding, including bumpers, pillows and stuffed animals.
