SwaddleMe, Graco, and Other Infant Sleeper Recalls Issued By CPSC Due To Infant Risks

More than 165,000 infant sleepers have been added to the millions of inclined bassinets recalled in recent months, as federal safety officials continue to warn consumers to stop using the sleepers immediately, after linking the designs have been linked to more than 70 infant deaths.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced four separate infant inclined sleeper recalls on January 29, adding to the growing number of products sold nationwide in recent years that have been removed from the market, and raising further concerns about the safety of all infant inclined sleeping products.

Inclined infant sleepers and bassinets are designed to elevate the baby’s head and torso. Inclining the infant during sleep is intended to help prevent acid-reflux or congestion. However, the design has proven to be potentially deadly after babies are old enough to roll over on their own, or if the incline of the bassinet forces the child’s chin down to his or her neck, creating an airway blockage.

The recalls impact approximately 165,300 inclined sleepers and bassinets Summer Infant, Graco, Evenflo and Delta Enterprise.

The Summer Infant SwaddleMe By Your Bed inclined sleeper recall follows a January 23 warning which instructed consumers to stop using the product while regulators worked with the manufacturer to facilitate a recall.

The recall includes more than 46,000 SwaddleMe By Your Bed Sleepers manufactured by Summer Infant’s Inc. and sold at juvenile product stores and mass merchandisers nationwide including Amazon and Buy Buy Baby from March 2017 through December 2019 for about $99.

The Graco Little Lounger Rocking Seats recall was the largest issued this week, involving approximately 111,000 units with model numbers 1872034, 1875063, 1875102, 1877160, 1882081, 1896313, 1908957, 1914283 and 2047734 and 1922809.

The Little Lounger Rocking Seats were manufactured by Graco Children’s Products Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia and were sold at Target, Babies R Us and other stores nationwide and online at various websites from 2013 through 2018 for about $80.

The CPSC also announced recalls for roughly 3,100 Evenflo Pillo Portable Nappers and 5,900 Delta Incline Sleepers with Adjustable Feeding Position for Newborns. These products were distributed for to mass merchandisers including Target, Kohl’s, Kmart, Buy Buy Baby, JC Penny, and Walmart from 2017 to present.

According to the CPSC recall notices, customers are being asked to contact the manufacturers for a cash refund or voucher. Summer Infant customers may contact the manufacturer at 1-800-426-8627, Graco customers may call 800-345-4109, Evenflo customers should call 1-800-233-5921 and Delta customers should call 1-800-377-3777.

Safety concerns with inclined sleepers were first disclosed to the public in April 2019, when the CPSC issued a Fisher-Price Rock’n Play warning, instructing consumers to stop placing their infants in the sleepers by three months old, or before they begin to show signs that they can roll over independently. However, this warning was disputed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), stating parents will not know the exact moment a child gains the ability to roll over, which may be too late and result in another infant death.

These latest recalls follow other major inclined sleeper recalls announced since the CPSC’s initial warning, including Fisher-Price’s recall of 4.7 million Rock’n Play Sleepers and a recall of 694,000 Kids II inclined rocking sleepers. Fischer-Price subsequently released an additional inclined sleeper recall in June, impacting 71,000 inclined sleeping accessories sold with their Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards.

Retailers such as Amazon, Buy Buy Baby, eBay, Walmart, and several other major outlets have pledged to stop selling infant inclined sleepers as a result. However, it is estimated that millions remain in the possession of consumers and daycare facilities.

Fischer-Price now faces a number of individual wrongful death and class action infant sleeper lawsuits, each of which raise similar allegations that the manufacturer knew or should have known about the risk of problems, yet delayed announcing a recall or warning, and knowingly allowed parents to continue purchasing life-threatening devices for infants.