Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2 million infant swings due to risks of suffocation after the deaths of five infants were reported.
All 21 models of the company’s Snuga Swings, an infant swing with a front-to-back and side-to-side motion, have been recalled. They all feature the same design but come with minor differences in fabric colors and toy accessories.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, approximately 2.1 million swings have been sold in the U.S. since 2010. Consumers in Canada bought around 99,000 of them, while some 500 swings were sold in Mexico.
The product should never be used for sleep, according to the CPSC. Bedding materials should also never be added to the swing as “the headrest and body support insert on the seat pad can increase the risk of suffocation.”
There have been five deaths between 2012 and 2022 linked to the product, officials said. They all involved infants between 1 to 3 months of age while using the product for sleep.
Consumers are urged to “immediately” remove the headrest and the body support insert before continuing to use the swing for awake-time activities.
Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel, says it will provide a $25 refund to consumers who remove and destroy the headrest and body support insert of the product — which sold for about $160 on retailers including Amazon, Target and Toys R Us.
The company’s recall “remedy” was sharply criticized by CPSC Commissioner Richard L. Trumka, who said Fisher-Price’s “flawed” recall is “doomed to fail and will keep many babies in harm’s way.”
According to Trumka, the company’s recall will continue to encourage the use of the swing, even though its use for infant sleep remains unsafe.
“I fear that this dangerous approach will keep babies at risk of death just to save Fisher-Price money — a horrible example of putting profit over people,” he said in a scathing response to the company’s offer.
“Fisher-Price can do more to save babies’ lives — I think it needs to,” Trumka added “And I firmly believe that consumers should demand more from this company.”
A complete list of Snuga Swing models, including product numbers and descriptions, can be found on Thursday’s recall notice.
