US authorities and toymaker Fisher-Price have announced a product recall for 4.7 million Rock ’n Play Sleeper rocker chairs, after they’d been linked to more than 30 infant deaths over a decade.
“Since the 2009 product introduction, over 30 infant fatalities have occurred in Rock ’n Play Sleepers, after the infants rolled over while unrestrained, or under other circumstances,” the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in its recall notice yesterday (April 12).
Fisher-Price, owned by Mattel, said in a statement that the company has made children’s safety its highest priority: “We stand by the safety of our products. However, due to reported incidents in which the product was used contrary to the safety warnings and instructions, we have decided to conduct a voluntary recall of the Rock ’n Play Sleeper in partnership with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
On April 5, the CPSC and Fisher-Price warned consumers that they’d become aware of 10 infants dying in the rocker since 2015, after having rolled from their back to their stomach or side, and that children above three months should not be using the product.
The American Academy of Pediatrics called on April 9 for the rocker to be removed from the market since it did not meet the organization’s recommendations for a safe sleep environment: “Infants should always sleep on their back, on a separate, flat and firm sleep surface without any bumpers or bedding.”