Bumbo Baby Seat Injuries Continue to Be Reported: CPSC

Despite a four-year-old recall for Bumbo baby seats, federal regulators continue to receive reports involving babies suffering severe head trauma and other injuries when infants fall from the seats after they are placed on elevated surfaces. 

On Tuesday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about serious head injuries associated with Bumbo baby seats. The warning urges owners of the seats, which were recalled in 2007, to never place the seats on raised surfaces like tables and countertops.

The October 25, 2007, a Bumbo seat recall was issued to add new warnings after reports were received involving at least three skull fractures suffered by children who fell out of the chairs after they had been placed on tables. Since the recall, another 17 infants, ages 3-10 months, have suffered skull fractures after falling out of the recalled seats.

The CPSC is aware of at least 45 incidents overall involving the Bumbo seats since the recall. Before the seats were pulled from the market, there were 14 skull fractures, two concussions and one broken limb.

About 3.85 million Bumbo seats have been sold in the U.S. since 2003. The 2007 recall affected about 1 million of those. The seats sold after the recall had additional warning labels that indicated placing the seats on elevated surfaces could result in falls.

The Bumbo seats are designed to help infants sit upright, so that they can support their head. However, the seat does not prevent an infant from upsetting it via vigorous movement, like rocking or leaning backwards, forwards or sideways. When on an elevated surface, like a table, this could lead to a fall that results in serious injury.