May 02 2019

Fisher-Price Recalls the Rock 'n Play Sleeper Tied to Infant Deaths

Fisher-Price on Friday recalled all 4.7 million of its Rock ’n Play Sleepers, citing more than 30 infant deaths, and told parents to immediately stop using the products. The recall, which applies to all models of the product, was conducted voluntarily by the company under the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Fast Track recall process.

The Fisher Price rock’n play sleeper is dangerous as babies not only can roll over when unrestrained but they can also suffocate or die from strangulation. A recent investigation by Consumer Reports found that at least 32 babies died in accidents that occurred while they were resting in the Rock’n Play sleeper.

Rock’n Play sleepers are inclined padded sleepers that automatically rock the babies to put them to sleep. The product requires the baby to be inclined on its back and to be restrained, which the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doesn’t recommend. Safe sleep guidelines from the AAP recommend that babies be put in their bed alone on their back on a firm flat mattress, free form soft bedding.

“This product is dangerous and I urge parents and caregivers to stop using it right away,” said Ben Hoffman, M.D., chairperson of AAP’s Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee. “While this recall is specific to the Rock ’n Play, there are other inclined and padded sleeping products on the market that can put infants’ safety at risk. I am glad to see this product off the market and urge all parents to talk to their pediatricians about how to keep their babies safe during sleep time and any time.”

Marta Tellado, president and CEO of Consumer Reports, said, “The Fisher-Price recall of the Rock ’n Play is long overdue. It took dogged investigation and the voices of doctors, victims’ families, and advocates across the country to make this recall a reality. Congress needs to take a hard look at the CPSC and make sure it is a watchdog that consumers can rely on.”

Among the cases of babies who died while sleeping in the Rock ’n Play sleeper, many are related to babies dying from positional asphyxia, or inability to breathe caused by the position. Parents have been reporting putting their children to sleep for the night in the inclined sleeper and finding them dead with their head tilted to the side and compressing the airway. Consumer Reports investigators found that the earliest case dated from 2011 and the most recent from Spring 2018.

On their website, Fisher Price mentions that they developed this product after one of their employees had a child suffering from acid reflux and that the designer’s doctor suggested elevating the child’s head. When questioned about this statement in lawsuits, the company said that it “engaged a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm,” which concluded that the “Rock ’n Play Sleeper presents a lower risk of fatality than cribs and bassinets/cradles.” Consumer Reports tracked down the medical consultant who came up with this conclusion and found that he was neither a pediatrician nor a sleep specialist but a family practice doctor in San Antonio.

CR recommends that parents and caregivers with other inclined sleepers should also immediately stop using those products. That is especially true for Kids II inclined sleepers, which CR has reported to be linked with four infant deaths.

CR Article:

https://www.consumerreports.org/recalls/fisher-price-recalls-rock-n-play-sleeper/

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