US orders recall of Fisher-Price baby swings linked to five infant deaths

US consumer safety officials announced recently they had ordered the recall of 2m Fisher-Price baby swings after they were linked to at least five infants’ deaths and posed a suffocation risk.

The product, the Snuga Swing, was “doomed to fail” according to a commissioner with the US Product Safety Commission, which said infants should never sleep in inclined seats, such as swings, gliders and rockers.

The recall affects products, which were not made for infants to sleep in, and were sold at Amazon, Toys R Us, Walmart/Sam’s Club and Target between October 2010 and January this year.

The agency said the infants who died were aged between one and three months and had been put to sleep in the swings. In most of those cases, the infants were unrestrained and bedding materials were added to the product, the CPSC added.

The commission recommended that infants be placed on their backs for sleep, preferably “on a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet, or play yard, with nothing but a fitted sheet”.

With the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, Congress made it illegal to manufacture and sell inclined sleepers for infants in 2022 and parents were advised to stop using the products.

In a statement, Fisher-Price said the company’s “greatest concern and primary focus has always been the safety of the children who use our products. For that reason, we’ve taken action to recall [the products]. Fisher-Price is dedicated to creating safe and helpful products for you and your family.”