Baby sleep pillows and nursing pillows sold online: what UK and US safety regulators flagged

Two kinds of baby pillow sold online have drawn action from safety regulators in the past month. In the UK, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published four reports between October 13 and November 4, 2026, on "baby sleep pillows" listed on Wish and AliExpress, three of them with an electric patting or warming function. In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced recalls of two nursing pillows sold on Amazon, on October 29 and November 5, saying both fall short of the mandatory standard they must meet. Different rules apply to the two, and the UK alert on sleep pillows expressly leaves nursing pillows out.

The sleep pillows UK officials flagged

In all four reports, OPSS rates the risk as serious, records that the marketplace removed the listing and says the product failed the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. All four were made in China.

The regulator gives the same reason in each report: pillows and soft toys "are advised not to be placed in the sleep space for babies under the age of one year", because their presence raises the risk of overheating and airway obstruction, which OPSS says "have been associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)". The goose pillow's Wish listing called it an "Infant Exhaust Pillow with Gentle Patting Motion for Soothing Baby Sleep 0-12M". OPSS's alert says the harms can occur when a baby is placed on such a pillow "unattended or for sleep", and it tells businesses that no pillow or cushion they make, import or sell may be marketed "as a sleep pillow for a baby under 12 months old".

The UK alert behind the reports

Each report refers to Product Safety Alert PSA8, which OPSS published on December 11, 2025. The alert says baby sleep pillows have been linked to child deaths in the UK and overseas, and names suffocation and overheating as the main harms. It lists other names the products are sold under, from "Baby Hug Pillow" and "Baby Comfort Cushion" to "Exhaust Pillow". Its two key safety messages read: "‘Baby Sleep Pillows’ should not be used for babies under 12 months old" and "Do not place a ‘Baby Sleep Pillow’ in a cot or crib."

The alert does not apply to nursing pillows or other pillows designed and marketed only for breastfeeding, to cot mattresses that comply with BS EN 16890, or to pillows for children over 12 months that comply with BS 4578. The Wish listing name that OPSS records for the moon-shaped pillow, which it describes as marketed as suitable for baby sleeping, also calls it a "Baby Breastfeeding Pillow". For owners, OPSS says that if a product "was marketed for baby sleep, or to be used unattended, you should contact the business that supplied the product", and that they may be entitled to redress under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. For safe sleep itself, it points parents to the NHS.

The two US nursing pillow recalls

According to the CPSC, both pillows fail the mandatory nursing pillow standard because they could block a baby's breathing, "posing a serious risk of injury or death from suffocation". Neither notice reports any incidents.

The PILLANI notice says "Consumers should stop using the nursing pillows immediately and contact PILLANI for a full refund", and the Kikea Store notice gives the same instruction for the X-VESOLJE pillows. The refund steps differ. According to the CPSC notices, PILLANI asks for a photo of the pillow and then sends disposal instructions, while Kikea Store asks owners to cut the pillow in half once the firm has confirmed it is a recalled one, and to email a photo of the destroyed pillow. PILLANI is based in Houston, Texas; Kikea Store is the trading name of a company in China, the notice says.

What the US rules require

The nursing pillow standard, at 16 CFR part 1242, applies to products made after April 23, 2025, according to the CPSC's business guidance. It covers products meant to hold an infant close to a caregiver's body during breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Among its requirements, pushing a 3-inch head probe 1 inch into the pillow must take more than 10 newtons of force, infant restraints are not allowed, and the packaging must warn against using the pillow for sleep or in cribs, bassinets or play yards. Manufacturers and importers must also certify compliance in a Children's Product Certificate.

Other US rules reach further. Infant pillows that have a flexible fabric cover, are loosely filled with granular material such as polystyrene beads, flatten easily, can conform to a baby's body or face and are meant for children under one remain banned hazardous substances, the CPSC says. A separate standard for infant support cushions, 16 CFR part 1243, applies to products made after May 5, 2025, and the agency's examples include infant positioners, loungers and props meant to support a reclining baby. The CPSC pages we read do not address electric patting pillows of the kind OPSS reported.

What the records leave out

The OPSS reports give listing names and identifiers but no sales figures, and they do not say whether the same pillows were offered to US buyers. The two CPSC notices give unit counts and report no incidents. In the US, the CPSC asks people to report unsafe products and injuries at SaferProducts.gov.