The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued another recall today involving more baby cribs.  The cribs, linked to dozens of reports from parents and caregivers, have been recalled after suffocation and strangulation concerns were raised.  This current recall follows several others over the last few months, involving multiple manufacturers, and is focused on cribs made by Simplicity and Graco.

The Graco recall involves drop-side cribs made for them by LaJobi.  The CPSC warned consumers to immediately stop using these cribs and to contact LaJobi ((888) 842-2215 or at their website) for a free hardware retrofit kid which will immobilize the drop side.  The CPSC and LaJobi have received nearly 100 reports from consumers, including two where the children became entrapped in the gap created by the side of the crib which raises and lowers; in both incidents the children were freed. Another six reports involving children falling from the crib after the drop-side failed, including one child who suffered a mild concussion.

The Simplicity recall encompasses ALL full-size cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. (although many may have been subject to earlier recalls).  At least one death, of a one-year old boy from Massachusetts, has been reported as part of the recall.  The recall is a result of the failure of the crib’s tubular metal mattress-support frame.  The frame may bend or come apart, causing part of the mattress to collapse, creating a space into which an infant or toddler can become trapped or causing both the child and the mattress to fall out of the crib.  In addition to the death in Massachusetts, the CPSC has received 13 additional reports, including one child entrapment that did not result in injury, and one child who suffered minor cuts to his head when his mattress collapsed and he fell out of the crib.

“CPSC urges all parents and caregivers to not attempt to resell any Simplicity crib to a thrift store, at a yard sale or online,” said agency spokesman Scott Wolfson.  “These recalled cribs have killed far too many babies and need to be kept out of homes and daycare centers.

Simplicity has been the subject of almost a dozen recalls since 2005 and its cribs have been linked to 13 deaths.  Unfortunately, Simplicity is no longer in business, leaving customers and the CPSC without a source for information.

Parents and Caregivers take heed – another child “safety” device was recalled on Thursday, March 25, 2010.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, in cooperation with the manufacturer, Evenflo, announced the recall of Evenflo’s Top-of-Stair wood gates after receiving 142 reports of the slats breaking or detaching from the gates.

Nearly 200,000 of these gates have been recalled, after reports of children gaining access to the stairs through the defective slats and children being injured by the slats themselves or from falls relating to the slats.

According to the CPSC, “The slats on the gate can break or detach, posing a fall hazard to children… Evenflo has received 142 reports of slats breaking and/or detaching from the gate.

Three children gained access to stairs. One of those children fell through the gate and down five steps; another fell down one step. Injuries included four children who sustained bumps and bruises to the head and seven children who sustained minor injuries including scratches, scrapes and bruises.”

The model numbers affected by the recall, produced between October 2007 and July 2009, include 10502 and 10512.  The model number is located on the bottom rail of the gate. The defective wooden gates were sold by Toys “R” Us, Burlington Baby Depot, Kmart and other juvenile product and wholesale retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The CPSC urges parents and caretakers to cease use of the recalled gates and contact Evenflo toll-free at (800) 233-5921 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or online at safety.evenflo.com to receive a complimentary replacement Evenflo Top-of-Stair™ Plus Wood Gate.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC) announced today that a free replacement program has begun for the “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” infant slings, manufactured by Infantino LLC, of San Diego, California.  One million slings are being recalled in the United States and 15,000 are being recalled in Canada, in a cooperative effort with the manufacturer.

The CPSC has called for consumers to immediately stop using these slings for infants younger than four months of age due to a risk of suffocation.  The recall is announced following reports of three infant deaths that occurred in these slings last year involving 7-week-old infant, a 6-day-old infant and a 3-month-old infant.

The two slings involved in the recall are both soft fabric baby carriers with a strap which allows the parent or caregiver to have the baby lying against their chest.  The “SlingRider” model has “Infantino” is printed on the plastic slider located on the strap.  The “Wendy Bellissimo” carriers were sold only at Babies “R” Us and have a sewn-in label on the inside of the sling strap that says in part “Wendy Bellissimo Media, Inc.”

Consumers can contact Infantino toll-free at (866) 860-1361 between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the company’s Web site to receive a free replacement product.

One of the leading manufacturers of baby strollers, Maclaren, has recalled one million strollers which pose an amputation danger for children’s fingers.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 12 children had suffered fingertip amputations after getting them stuck in the closing hinge mechanism of the strollers.

In response to the recall, Maclaren has developed a free kit which covers the side hinges of the stroller for any consumers who have purchased one of their strollers during the past decade.  Placement of the kit over the hinge protects children from the hazard of amputation.

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