Fisher-Price said Thursday it's recalling more than 2 million of its Snuga Swings due to the risk of babies suffocating if the seats are used for sleep.
Between 2012 and 2022, five infants ages 1 to 3 months died while sleeping in the swing, a notice posted on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website Thursday said. In most cases, the babies were unrestrained in the seat, and bedding materials had been added.
The U.S. CPSC and Fisher-Price said the swings, which sway front to back and side-to-side, should never be used for sleep and that additional materials should never be added to it for the risk of suffocation is increased. They instructed Snuga Swing owners of the 21 models involved in the recall to immediately remove the products' headrests and body support inserts to further reduce the risk before continuing to use the swings for "awake-time activities."
"Parents and caregivers should never use any inclined seated products, such as swings, gliders, soothers, and rockers, for infant sleep and should not leave infants in these products unsupervised, unrestrained or with bedding material due to the risk of suffocation," the notice said, urging consumers to always have their infants sleep on their backs on a flat surface.
Customers with Snuga Swings, which are sold for about $160, can receive a $25 refund from Fisher-Price if they "remove and destroy" the headrest and body support insert, with additional instructions on Mattel's website stating how to submit and prove you've done so.
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But while advising customers to get their $25 refund from Fisher-Price, U.S. CPSC Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr. argued the offer is just an attempt for the company to save money instead of "adequately ending the hazard." He said that customers should be getting their full money back and being told to destroy the product, alleging the company's failure to fully recall the swings will encourage its use despite them remaining unsafe for infants.
"I believe that the flawed recall that Fisher-Price is announcing today is doomed to fail and will keep many babies in harm's way," his statement read. "I have no doubt that if these products remain in homes, many consumers will still use these products for sleep because they have received conflicting instructions over time ... Fisher-Price cannot un-ring the bell. Dangerous products will remain in homes after this recall."
Inclined infant sleepers have been banned in the U.S. since Congress enacted a law in 2022, but some researchers in the field say there are still many products, like swings and rockers, with similar incline designs that become extremely hazardous when used for sleep. And Trumka said Fisher-Price needs to be held more accountable for the role it plays in this market when both creating products and recalling them.
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The commissioner pointed to three other Fisher-Price recalls that also didn't entail full refunds and noted that in one of them — the 2019 Rock 'n Play recall — eight babies died after the notice, bringing the total number of deaths related to the product to more than 100. A 2021 congressional report later found the company ignored warnings that the product was unsafe for sleep and still marketed it for that purpose.
In 2021, Fisher-Price also recalled its Rock 'n Glide Soothers after four infants died from rolling onto their stomachs. The following year, two of its rockers were linked to the deaths of 13 infants, but despite acknowledging the tragedies, it did not recall the products, instead reminding consumers that the rockers shouldn't be used for sleep.
"These actions do not show the commitment to ending product-related infant sleep deaths that I would expect to see from a company that claims to place safety as its highest priority," Trumka's statement said. "Instead of learning from the failures of the past, Fisher-Price appears indifferent to repeating them. Fisher-Price should know better than to skimp on another recall."
