More deadly infant sleepers recalled as complete ban considered

By Grace Brombach

Philadelphia-- Four more companies have recalled inclined sleepers according to the U.S. Consumer Product Commission. A CPSC-commissioned expert reviewed the safety of such devices in October and found them inherently unsafe for infant sleep. 

The four companies--Delta Children, Evenflo, Graco, and Summer Infant -- recalled a total of 165,000 products that could threaten babies lives.

For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has warned the only safe surface for sleep is for the baby to be alone on a hard, flat surface with no extra bedding. But, despite such warnings, millions of inclined sleepers have been sold.

A coalition including the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and Kids in Danger, urged “retailers and online sellers to remove all infant inclined sleepers — including the recalled models — from their offerings if they haven’t yet done so. Some of these products still haven’t been recalled; it’s critical for manufacturers and the CPSC to work together to get them off the market immediately.”

Parents are often desperate to get a child to sleep. So when a company markets a product as the key to a good nights sleep, for baby and therefore parent, it gets snapped up. 

But last year, after dozens of deaths were tied to the Fisher-Price Rock ‘N Play and Kids2 Rocking Sleeper, the CPSC initiated a massive recall of 5 million products.  But still many of these products remain for sale and in use.  

FURTHER ACTION BEING CONSIDERED

After the CPSC’s own expert confirmed years of evidence that inclined sleepers posed a suffocation risk, they proposed a rule in November to virtually ban the product by requiring all products marketed for infant sleep to meet safe sleep standards.

“If finalized, this proposal would finally offer parents needed reassurance that any product marketed as safe for infant sleep would indeed be safe for their child,” AAP President Kyle E. Yasuda, M.D., FAAP, said in a press release with a coalition of consumer and medical groups. “This new standard will save lives, and we urge CPSC to implement it right away.”

That rule is in the midst of a public comment period that will wrap up later in February. Until then, these products are still being sold. So some advocates have called on retailers to stop selling the products. Amazon and eBay have already complied with the demand.   

RECALLED PRODUCTS STILL IN USE

While advocates and parents applaud the new rule, it will do little to remove inclined sleepers that already have been sold. AnSo some groups, like Consumer Reports, are

Such recalls haven’t been as effective as children, public health and safety advocates would like. A study by Kids in Danger last summer found 1 in 10 child care facilities were still using the Fisher-Price Rock n Play or Kids2 Rocking Sleeper months after the recall was initiated.

The core problem: facilities hadn’t heard about the recall. 

”Announcing a recall does little to keep children safe if companies don’t make efforts to reach the users of their faulty products,” stated Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger. “Laws to prohibit the use of recalled products in child care is a good first step, but an effective recall depends on companies taking aggressive action to reach all users of their products and encouragement to participate in the recall.”

RECALLED PRODUCTS

Evenflo Pillo Portable Napper: 3,100 units with model number 12132125

Delta Enterprise: 5,900 units between Beautyrest Beginnings Incline Sleeper with Adjustable Feeding Position for Newborns; Disney Baby Minnie Mouse Incline Sleeper with Adjustable Feeding Position for Newborns; Delta Children Deluxe 3-in-1 Activity Rocker, Feeder and Sleeper; Simmons Kids Beautyrest Deluxe 3-in-1 Activity Rocker, Feeder, and Sleeper; 3-in-1 Activity Rocker, Feeder and Incline Sleeper and others.

Graco Little Lounge Rocking Sleeper: 111,000 units with most models (model numbers 1872034, 1875063, 1875102, 1877160, 1882081, 1896313, 1908957, 1914283 and 2047734) have multiple incline positions and one model (model number 1922809) has one incline position.
Summer Infant SwaddleMe By Your Bed: 46,300 units with model number 91394.