Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2 million infant Snuga Swings due to a suffocation risk found after reports that five children died sleeping in the device.
In an alert issued by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the $160 device “should never be used for sleep and bedding materials should never be added to it” because the headrest and body support insert located on the seat cap “can increase the risk of suffocation.”
Five deaths were reported between 2012 and 2022, and all were infants aged between 1 and 3 months using the swings for sleep. The agency said that in “most” of the incidents the children were unrestrained, and the swing had bedding materials added to it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends to keep loose blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, bumpers and other soft items out of the sleep space.
There are 21 models of Snuga Swings, all of which are part of the massive recall. A full list of models and product numbers are available on the CPSC website.
The device has been sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico since 2010. Retailers include Amazon, Toys R Us, Target and both Walmart and Sam’s Club.
People who keep the Snug Swing should “immediately remove” the headrest and body support insert on the seat pad. Fisher-Price is providing a $25 refund to owners who remove those parts, which is available to access on Mattel’s website.
Despite that remedy, Richard Trumka Jr., a commissioner of the CPSC, blasted Fisher-Price for not recalling the whole product and said customers should be fully refunded.
“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,” he wrote in a statement. “My advice: get your $25 refund and then throw this product away; do not keep it in your homes because even after the so-called ‘repair’ this product will still be unsafe for infant sleep.”
Mattel didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment about Trumka’s remarks.
Fisher-Price has previously recalled other infant swings, including its problem-prone Rock ‘n Play Sleepers. That device was involved in two recalls, including last year when eight infant deaths occurred after its initial 2019 recall.
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