Thursday 27 December 2012

SIDS: Nap Nanny infant recliner recalled after five baby deaths, 70 injuries


THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION/APThis undated image provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission shows the Nap Nanny, made by Baby Matters LLC of Berwyn PA.
Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Staff Reporter 
Parents in Canada and the United States are being warned to stop using all models of Nap Nanny baby recliners after five infant deaths and dozens of injuries.
More than 155,000 recliners in three models have been sold since 2009. The manufacturer, Baby Matters, LLC, went out of business earlier this month.
Four major retailers have agreed to pull the remaining recliners off store shelves, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
Health Canada said it has had no reports of injuries from the recliner in Canada.
The recall covers Nap Nanny Generations One and Two, and the Chill model infant recliners, the CPSC said.
The first generation of the recliner had been recalled in Canada and the U.S. in July, 2010 after the death of a 4-month-old girl in Michigan and 22 reports of injuries.
A new version with new instructions came out shortly afterward but failed to stop the problems.
“The Nap Nanny contains defects in its design, warnings and instructions. The agency said the product poses a substantial risk of injury and death to infants,” the CPSC warning said.
The device, a foam curved base with a harness, was invented by former U.S. sportscaster Leslie Gudel in 2009 to provide a comfortable 30-degree sleeping angle for babies that was similar to a car seat.
“The loss of an infant is an unthinkable tragedy, and I am truly heartbroken for the families who have lost a child,” Gudel said in a statement on the product website.
“But the fact that infants have died ‘while using’ the Nap Nanny improperly, such as when used in a crib where the child could suffocate on a crib bumper or a blanket, does not mean our product caused the child’s death or is hazardous.”
She blamed the CPSC complaint for putting her company out of business.
The CPSC has received more than 70 incident reports of children getting trapped by or nearly falling out of the recliners, the agency said. Three CPSC commissioners voted unanimously to file a complaint against Baby Matters when the company failed to come up with an adequate recall plan.
The four retailers — Amazon.com, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com and Toys R Us/Babies R Us — agreed voluntarily to pull the product, the agency said.

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