Infants Died in Fisher-Price Seats That Are Not for Sleep, Safety Commission Said

“As a parent and pediatrician, I know that it is challenging to think about taking a sleeping baby out of a car seat and moving them to an approved sleep space,” he said. “But that is the recommendation.”

In May, Congress passed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, which outlawed the manufacture and sale of inclined sleepers for infants. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, one of the leading causes of death of babies in the United States, can be caused by sleeping conditions that aren’t recommended like the use of an inclined rocker.

The Infant-to-Toddler Rocker and Newborn-to-Toddler Rocker have not been recalled, but Mr. Trumka said the commission will determine if they fall under the congressional ban. The 2019 recall included 4.7 million products.

The announcement about the 13 infant deaths, which took place between 2009 and 2021, was delayed by two months by a restriction that prohibits the commission from disclosing information about consumer products without taking certain steps to ensure its accuracy and fairness. Mr. Trumka called upon Congress to repeal this “gag rule.”

“Even with cooperation from Fisher-Price, we fought an uphill battle to release this information to warn parents and caregivers,” Mr. Trumka said.

Alex D. Hoehn-Saric, chair of the safety commission, said the organization is continuing investigations into the deaths. A new rule goes into effect on June 23 enforcing a requirement that the surfaces of sleep products have an angle of 10 degrees or less.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/business/fisher-price-rocker-warning.html