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BALTIMORE (AP) — A Maryland panel has recommended that crib bumper pads be declared a hazard.

The four-member task force issued the recommendation on Friday, saying bumpers can suffocate or strangle babies. The recommendation now goes to the state's health secretary, who will decide whether to issue a regulation that could ban their sale in the state.

Bumper pads are cushions that line a crib. Makers say they prevent babies from hitting their heads. Task-force members say research shows most babies can't exert enough force to hurt themselves and bumpers do more harm than good.

Earlier this year, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association to push for a sales halt, and urged parents not to use them.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is also studying the issue.