Lawmakers are asking Graco and Chicco to consider recalling several popular baby playards that come with inclined sleeper accessories, citing dozens of deaths linked to similar inclined sleeping products.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, questioned “the design and safety” of Chicco’s Lullaby® Playards and Graco’s Care Station® Playards with inclined sleeper accessories, according to USA Today.
The Chicco Lullaby Baby Playard has an inclined accessory called the “Newborn Lounger,” which was formerly called the “Newborn Napper.”
Maloney wrote, “It is not until Page 29 of the Lullaby Baby Product Manual that a warning appears to ‘NEVER leave child unattended,'” quoting the manual.
In recent years, millions of inclined sleeping products for babies have been recalled since April 2019, starting with 4.7 million Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers.
Earlier this year, over 165,000 inclined sleepers were recalled by Graco, Summer Infant, Evenflo, and Delta Children.
Inclined sleepers have been linked to at least 73 infants deaths, and more than 1,000 close calls and serious injuries, according to Consumer Reports.
The problem is that babies can roll over from their back to their stomach and and suffocate. Infants who can’t hold their head up may suffocate due to positional asphyxia, even if they can’t roll over.
Source: House committee asks Graco and Chicco to consider recalls of ‘playard’ inclined sleepers