(COLUMBUS, Ohio) May 2014 – A newly published study shows that baby gates, which are designed to help protect children around the house, are actually responsible for a growing number of injuries. “We looked at emergency department visits between 1990 and 2010, and found that the incidence of baby gate-related injuries nearly quadrupled,” said Lara McKenzie, PhD, lead author of the study and principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Despite the voluntary standards and the recalls that we’ve seen for gates, we’re still seeing a really significant increase in the number of injuries related to them,” she said.
The study found that 37,673 children were treated in emergency departments due to baby gate injuries during the 21 year study period, and that the incidence rate climbed from 3.9 injuries per 100,000 children in 1990, to 12.5 per 100,000 by the study’s end.
“We need to do a better job of making these products easier for parents to use and safer for children to be around,” said McKenzie.
