Fisher-Price and Kids2 baby rockers have been linked to at least 14 deaths and they could be banned under a new law aimed at removing dangerous baby products from the market.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a pair of safety warnings after 13 babies died in Fisher-Price Rockers since 2009, and one baby died in a Kids2 Rocker in 2019.
Safety officials are warning that rockers “should never be used for sleep and infants should never be unsupervised or unrestrained in the Rockers.”
Fisher-Price and Kids2 did not announce recalls, claiming that the products are not advertised for sleep.
Even so, all baby rockers could be banned under a new law called the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, which goes into effect on June 23, 2022.
The law will ban all “rockers, bouncers, and other soothing infant seats regardless of whether they are intended and marketed for sleep,” according to CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.
CPSC Chair Alex D. Hoehn-Saric said the agency plans to “aggressively enforce the rule in order to protect the most vulnerable among us, our children.”
Fisher-Price said it has sold about 17 million Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers. Kids2 has sold about 1.8 million rockers under the Bright Starts® and Baby Einstein® brands.
Rockers are similar to dangerous inclined sleepers, such as the now-recalled Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play, which was linked to at least 97 baby deaths before the company finally agreed to a recall.
At least 4 babies also died in the Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Rock ‘n Glide Soothers and 2-in-1 Soothe ‘n Play Gliders.
The problem with inclined baby rockers is that babies can suffocate to death within minutes if they are able to twist onto their side, or flip over from their back to their stomach, causing their face to get trapped against the fabric.
Tragedies can also occur when caregivers let babies sleep in the rockers, fail to use the harness restraints properly, or leave the baby unattended.
Source: 13 Infant Deaths Tied to Fisher-Price Infant Rockers
