Drop-side Crib Recall: 2M Cribs from Seven Manufacturers Deemed Unsafe

Federal regulators have announced a series of crib recalls encompassing more than 2 million cribs by seven different manufacturers; most of them involving defective drop-side cribs that can trap or suffocate infants. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the crib recalls on Thursday, saying that all of them have hazards that can endanger the safety of young children. Collectively, the CPSC received hundreds of reports of problems with the sides on the drop-side cribs failing, causing dozens of children to suffer injuries. At least 16 children became trapped in the beds, and one was reportedly knocked unconscious and hospitalized. There were no known deaths associated with any of these recalled cribs.

Drop side cribs are designed to allow easy access to the baby by having one side that can be unlocked and lowered. They have been particularly popular with shorter parents or those with back problems who have difficulty reaching over the rails of a standard crib.

However, defects in the design of several models of drop-side cribs have been blamed for the deaths of children when the parts of the crib came loose, creating a gap that can trap or suffocate the infant. Problems with drop side cribs have involved malfunctioning retractable pegs, metal locking pins that came loose, broken slats and other issues.

Two of the recalls were for cribs manufactured by Child Craft Industries, which went out of business in July 2009. The two recalls include the one non-drop-side crib on the list, the “Crib ‘N Double Bed” full size stationary side convertible crib with dowel.

About 40,000 to 50,000 of these convertible cribs are being recalled because the stationary side can be mistakenly installed upside-down and still appear to be installed correctly. The CPSC has received four reports of children becoming entrapped between the dowel and the stationary front side of the crib. The recall affects all Child Craft brand convertible cribs with the foot top dowel, including, but not limited to, cribs with the model number F36101.

The cribs were sold at Babies ‘R Us and other stores nationwide for between $600 and $650 between January 1998 and June 2009.

The remainder of the cribs being recalled are all drop-side cribs, including:

• An unknown number of Child Craft brand drop-side cribs manufactured between 2000 and 2009 with 33 different model numbers. See the CPSC crib recall announcement for this product for a full list of model numbers
• About 747,000 Delta Cribs by Delta Enterprise using lift and push drop-side designs and wooden mattress support stabilizer bars. The cribs were sold from January 2000 through May 2009 for between $100 and $300
• About 750,000 Jenny Lind drop-side cribs from Evenflo, Inc. sold under 16 different model numbers between January 2000 and November 2007 for about $200. See the CPSC crib recall announcement for this product for a full list of model numbers
• All Jardine drop-side cribs from Jardine Enterprise, Ltd., about 130,000 cribs in all, sold between January 2002 through June 2009 for between $150 and $480
• All models of Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI drop-side cribs by LaJobi Inc., about 306,000 cribs, sold from May 1999 through May 2009 for between $300 and $430
• About 156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs by Bexco Enterprises, manufactured between January 2000 and March 2010 for between $100 and $330 with 27 different model names and numbers. See the CPSC crib recall announcement for this product for a full list of model numbers
• All Simmons East Side Drop-side cribs by Simmons Juvenile Products, about 50,000 cribs in all, sold between January 2002 through February 2007 for between $100 and $500. See the CPSC crib recall announcement for this product for a full list of model numbers

Information on how to return these items or receive a free repair kit is available on the CPSC crib recall page for each item.