Why Infant Self-Feeding Pillows Are So Dangerous—and Safer Ways to Feed Your Baby
After new warnings and recalls, experts explain why these “hands-free” feeding products put babies at serious risk
Feeding a baby sounds simple enough—until you’re in the thick of it. The bottles, the burping, the pacing, and the sheer frequency add up fast, especially when you’re running on very little sleep. So when a product promises to help babies feed themselves, it’s understandable why tired parents might be tempted.
But experts say those promises can be misleading, and, in some cases, dangerous.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued an urgent warning to parents and caregivers asking them to immediately stop using infant self-feeding pillows—soft, plush products designed to hold a bottle in place so that babies can feed without being held—citing the risk of serious injury or death from aspiration and suffocation. The warning accompanied recall notices for four specific brands of bottle propping pillows sold on Amazon (Miocololy, MyBebe, Ourkiss, and Yiiektily) after the CPSC concluded that these pillows hold bottles at unsafe angles while preventing infants from pulling away if they are choking or in distress. (It should be noted that Amazon stopped selling the four recalled products.)
Infant self-feeding pillows are not endorsed by the Baby Safety Alliance (BSA), the primary trade group for juvenile product manufacturers that tests and provides a verification seal for products it deems safe for use. "We do not recommend their use,” says Lisa Trofe, executive director of the BSA, formerly the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. “Feeding an infant requires active, direct supervision. Products marketed to prop bottles or support hands-free feeding introduce unnecessary risk.”
Regulatory action has already been brought against this category in the United Kingdom, and U.S.-based medical professionals advise against using them to feed your baby. “It’s unsafe for babies to feed themselves without support or supervision,” says pediatrician Ari Brown, MD, author of "Baby 411" (Windsor Peak Pr, 2017). “A self-feeding pillow or ‘bottle propping,’ where a reclined baby has a bottle positioned in their mouth, is a health risk.”
Beyond the products that have already been recalled, Consumer Reports’ safety team has been tracking self-feeding pillows and bottle-propping products for more than a year and has identified many similar designs still for sale online. Wherever and however they’re sold, pediatricians, product safety advocates, and regulators all agree that there is no safe way to use these products.
What Are Infant Self-Feeding Pillows?
Infant self-feeding pillows—sometimes called bottle-propping pillows or hands-free feeding pillows—are soft, plush products designed to rest around a baby’s neck or upper body while holding a bottle in place. Most have several key features in common:
- A stuffed pillow that sits close to the baby’s face
- Arms or straps that wrap around the infant’s neck and fasten behind the head with snaps or hook-and-loop closures
- A mesh pocket, an elastic sleeve, or a holder that keeps the bottle positioned in front of the baby’s mouth
We found infant self-feeding pillows priced between $14 and $40 on Amazon, Walmart, and independent websites. Many of the infant self-feeding pillows we found in our research were manufactured overseas and sold by third-party sellers, making accountability and oversight more difficult. When we brought these products to the attention of Amazon and Walmart, the platforms worked to remove the products that we found, but others may remain.
In a statement to Consumer Reports, a Walmart spokesperson said, “The safety of our customers is very important to us. We expect third‑party sellers to offer merchandise that is safe, reliable, and compliant with our policies and all legal requirements. When items are identified as not meeting these standards or requirements, like in the event of a product recall, we move swiftly to remove the listings from our website.” Amazon told CR that it prohibits the sale of infant self-feeding pillows, and that when the platform is made aware of a non-compliant product, it is immediately removed.
Why Are Self-Feeding Pillows So Unsafe?
From both a medical and product-safety perspective, infant self-feeding pillows violate basic principles of safe infant feeding.
For starters, babies can’t control the flow of milk on their own. When a bottle is fixed in place, babies can lose control over how much milk enters their mouths. As a result, “a baby is forced to continue swallowing, which can lead to choking or inhaling the milk into the airway instead of the esophagus,” Brown says. That inhalation, known as aspiration, can block breathing or lead to aspiration pneumonia, a serious and potentially fatal condition.
New Regulations—and New Enforcement
The CPSC’s warning highlighted four infant self-feeding pillow brands sold on Amazon between 2021 and 2025. None of the sellers agreed to an acceptable recall, the notice said, prompting the agency to urge parents to stop using and dispose of the products.
The warning did not include specific injury counts, but the strong language is notable, says Kapoor. "It indicates these products can lead to serious injury.”
In 2022, the U.K. took regulatory action against similar products, ordering sellers to remove them from the market after determining they could not meet safety requirements.
Some self-feeding pillows may be covered under newer infant support cushion standards that went into effect in 2025, but enforcement is still catching up, Kapoor says. In light of these regulations, some infant self-feeding pillows that hold a bottle in front of the face of a reclining infant might violate the new rules and be subject to future recalls.
“Self-feeding infant pillows have no place in any family’s home and should not be for sale,” says Shin. “Even if a self-feeding infant pillow meets the standard, they pose too much of a risk of serious harm to babies. Digital marketplaces have a responsibility to use every tool available to stop third-party sellers from selling these products to exhausted parents who are desperate for solutions.”
Red Flags Parents Should Watch For
Experts urge parents to avoid any feeding product that includes:
- Claims of “hands-free” or “self-feeding”—any suggestion of unattended feeding is a red flag
- Bottle holders that fix the bottle in place with sleeves, mesh pockets, or other mechanisms
- Straps or fasteners around a baby’s head or neck
- Instructions that suggest feeding without holding the baby
- Designs that allow feeding while a baby is lying flat
Safer Ways to Feed Your Baby
For parents looking for safer alternatives, experts emphasize that the fundamentals matter more than any product or gadget.
That includes watching your baby during feedings while holding them in a semi-reclined position, an approach called "responsive feeding." “Watch your baby’s cues," Brown says. "Babies are good at telling you when they’re hungry, and when they’re full.” When babies are finished, she says, they naturally turn away or stop sucking, something they can’t do if a bottle is held in place.
Brown also recommends paced bottle feeding, which involves holding the baby in a caregiver’s arms, slightly reclined, while keeping the bottle nearly horizontal. This slows milk flow and allows babies to pause, swallow, and breathe. “It reduces choking risk as well as the risk of overfeeding,” she says.
For parents who need extra support, Brown encourages reaching out and asking for help. “Recruit family and friends and accept help if someone offers,” she says. “It’s okay to take a break as a new parent.”
If you have multiple babies, the CPSC suggests seeking guidance from a medical professional when feeding multiple babies and avoiding the temptation to bottle prop. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests feeding multiples simultaneously to align their schedules and to ask for help if that becomes too much. Breastfeeding moms may consider pumping to ensure someone else can step in to feed a baby when needed.
The promise of hands-free feeding can feel like a lifeline during long nights or hectic days. But experts stress the convenience isn’t worth the danger. “I know it’s labor-intensive,” Brown says. “But these are actually bonding moments with your baby, and they won’t be little for long.”
