The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of more than 3.3 million baby loungers produced by The Boppy Company. The recall, issued Thursday, was made after eight infant deaths were linked to the company's pillow-like baby products.
The CPSC said the infants were reportedly killed by suffocation after they were placed on their back, side, or stomach on the loungers. The company and the CPSC said the eight deaths that were reported occurred between December 2015 and June 2020.
CPSC Chairman Robert S. Adler said that these types of incidents were "heartbreaking." He said the agency has determined that the pillow-like products were not safe for infants to sleep in as they could be at risk of suffocation. He added that the products were never intended to be a place for infants to sleep in and users should refrain from using them as such.
The Boppy Company said it was "devastated" to learn of the deaths. It added that it never attempted to sell the baby loungers as an infant sleep product and it had included warnings against leaving infants unsupervised.
Baby deaths spur recall of 3.3 million Boppy and Pottery Barn infant loungers https://t.co/3Hc7GYSqb8 — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 23, 2021
The recall order will involve all of the company's Boppy Newborn Loungers, which are sold in three models - namely the Bobby Original Newborn Lounger, the Pottery Barn Kids Newborn Boppy Lounger, and the Boppy Preferred Newborn Lounger. The products were sold through various distributors nationwide and through major retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, Pottery Barn, and Target.
The company said parents and caregivers who have bought the affected products should stop using them and get in contact with any authorized seller for a refund. In October, the CPSC had issued a warning to consumers not to let their babies fall asleep on Boppy Company's product and those similar to it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies should be placed on a firm and flat surfaces that are free of padding, restraints, and heavy beddings. Products like those sold by the Bobby Company are not safe environments for sleeping infants as they do tend to move around, increasing their risk of suffocation.
Children's advocacy group Kids in Danger has called on regulators to impose new rules that ban the sale of different types of baby sleeping products for infants under five months old.
"Currently, too many products make their way onto the market that can appear to be for sleep but do not provide a safe sleep environment," the group said.
