Baby bath seats. These seats attach to the side of the tub; older models may attach to the bottom with suction cups. Either way, they can give parents a false sense of security. They've been associated with roughly 120 drownings and 160 injuries since 1983. Nearly all those deaths occurred when a parent or caregiver left the baby unattended momentarily. Note that baby bath seats are different from baby bathtubs, which have a steeply angled back or sling insert that helps the parent support the baby during baths. Baby bathtubs are useful, provided caretakers don't leave the child unattended. Consumers Union was among the first organizations to call for a ban on baby bath seats, in 2000. A new design emerged in early 2005; our tests found it to be unsafe. For more information see our report on baby bath seats.

Soft bedding. The ads in baby magazines suggest that if your crib isn't spilling over with frills and fluff, you're somehow shirking your parental duty. In fact, the safest crib is one that has a firm mattress, a snug-fitting mattress pad, and a fitted crib sheet, and nothing else; no puffy bumper guards, no stuffed animals, no pillows, no quilts. Experts have long recognized that such soft crib bedding creates the risk of suffocation. For bedtime in winter, dress your infant in a one-piece bunting. If you insist on a blanket, keep it at waist height, tucking ends firmly under the sides and bottom of the mattress.

Sleep positioners. These are wedge-shape pieces of foam meant to keep infants in a secure sleeping position. But we believe they're a suffocation hazard and our medical experts don't recommend them.

Changing tables with only three side rails. Changing tables are associated with 2,000 to 3,000 injuries per year, especially ones with only three side rails. The latest industry standard requires flat changing tables to have barriers on all four sides. Buy this type.