Fisher-Price recalls 2 million Snuga swings after children’s deaths: NPR

Baby products giant Fisher-Price announced Thursday that it will recall more than two million Snuga infant swings due to a suffocation hazard after five babies were reported to have died from sleeping in the device.

From 2012 to 2022, five infants between the ages of one and three months were reported to have died when the rocker was used for sleeping, usually when the babies were unrestrained, and extra bedding was added to the seat.

Parents were encouraged to remove the headrest and body support pillow from the seat cushion if they continued to use the product. The company was providing a $25 refund For consumers. The product retailed for around $160 until January of this year. No explanation was given as to how the company arrived at the $25 refund.

About 2.1 million hammocks were sold in the United States, with an additional 99,500 units sold in Canada and Mexico.

This is not the first time that Fisher Price has been forced to withdraw one of its products after the death of children.

In 2019, the company recalled its popular Rock ‘n Play Sleepers, killing about 100 people. Infant mortality.

In that case, Investigation The House Oversight and Reform Committee found that Fisher-Price did not adequately inspect the sleeper for safety before putting it on the market in 2009 and then battled criticism of Rock ‘n’ Play for a decade before that. Reminder of it In 2019 after more than 50 infants had already lost their lives.

The New York-based children’s company is facing similar criticism over its Snuga Swings recall.

Richard Trumka Jr., commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the current recall language still puts children at risk.

“First, Fisher-Price failed to recall the entire product, instead recalling only a portion of it. Even after a consumer follows through on the recall ‘remedy’, the product is still unsafe for infants to sleep, but Fisher-Price encourages ‘continuation of swing use’.” Continuous use.

“Second, beyond choosing to recall only a portion of the product, Fisher-Price is offering consumers only a fraction of the cost of the product — $25, when consumers originally spent about $160 on Snuga Swings,” Trumka continued. “I fear this dangerous approach will leave children at risk of death just to save Fisher-Price money – a terrible example of profit over people.”

Trumka advised parents to refund the $25 and throw the chair away because it remained unsafe for sleeping.