4 baby products not to buy (or register for)

Just because it’s available in stores and online doesn’t mean it’s safe. Here are four baby products you’ll definitely want to avoid or return if you receive them as a gift.

Baby bath seats. These seats attach to the side of the tub; older models may attach to the bottom with suction cups. They pose serious drowning hazards. 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.

Crib bedding and sleep positioners. 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, a fitted crib sheet, and nothing else--no bumper guards, stuffed animals, pillows, quilts, blankets, or sleep positioners (wedge-shape pieces of foam meant to keep infants in a secure sleeping position). 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.

Changing tables with only three side rails. Changing tables are associated with thousands of injuries per year. The latest industry standard requires flat changing tables to have barriers on all four sides. Buy this type.

For more information, see our reports on baby bathtubs, crib recommendations, and safe baby furniture reports.