Baby gates are designed to protect young children by preventing them from accessing areas where they can get hurt or fall. Parents who want to childproof their home often use child safety gates particularly those with stairways at home but a new study reveals that using baby gates has its potential risks when used incorrectly.

In a new study published in the May-June issue of Academic Pediatrics, researchers from the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, examined the injuries in young children that are associated with the use of baby gates.

Using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, the researchers found that from 1990 to 2010, about 37,673 children seven years old and younger got emergency room treatment because of baby gate-related injuries. The number translates to about 2,000 cases of young children getting rushed to the emergency room per year because of injuries associated with use of child safety gates.

Of those injured, 60.4 percent were older than two years old and 61 percent were boys. Patients under two years old were often injured by falls when the gate collapsed or was left open causing soft tissue injuries such as bumps and bruises, as well as traumatic brain injuries. Patients between two and six years old, on the other hand, often get hurt by contact with the gate causing open wound.

The researchers have also noted that the number of children getting hurt because of baby gates has jumped from just nearly four per 100,000 kids in 1990 to over 12 per 100,000 children in 2010.

Although more than 97 percent of the patients did not require hospitalization, the researchers urged parents to observe precaution when using baby gates. Pressure-mounted gates, for instance, can be used in doorways or in between rooms but they should not be used at the top of the stairs.

"Baby gates are essential safety devices for parents and caregivers, and they should continue to be used," said study author Lara McKenzie, from the Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Injury Research and Policy. "It is important, however, to make sure you are using a gate that meets the voluntary safety standards and is right type of gate for where you are planning to use it."