Fisher-Price Recalls Rock’n Play Sleepers Again After Seat Now Linked To Over 100 Baby Deaths

 Millions of Fisher-Price Rock’n Play Sleeper infant seats are being recalled an additional time after the seats have now been connected to the deaths of over 100 babies. 

Around 4.7 million Fisher-Price Rock’n Play Sleepers were first recalled in 2019 after over 30 babies had reportedly passed away. However, over 70 more deaths have been reported since they were originally recalled. Eight of those reportedly took place after the recall was announced. 

In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics pushed for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take the baby sleeper off the market. The demands came with reference to a Consumer Reports investigation that discovered 32 babies had died while in the baby seat since 2011, which included ten since 2015 that were discussed in a Fisher-Price and CPRSC safety alert release in 2019.

“I am thrilled that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Fisher-Price took the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and issued a recall of the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper,” Ben Hoffman, M.D., chair of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention said at the time. “This product is dangerous and I urge parents and caregivers to stop using it right away.” 

“As a pediatrician and a father, I know that infant sleep is a major concern for families, and pediatricians are ready to work with as many parents as possible to find solutions to help everyone sleep safely and soundly,” Hoffman noted. “We know that inclined sleepers like the Rock ‘n Play are not safe and put babies’ lives at risk. I am glad to see this product off the market and urge all parents to talk to their pediatricians about how to keep their babies safe during sleep time and any time.”

Fisher-Price told Consumer Reports in the 2019 report about the investigation that it knew of around 32 deaths, but it did not think that “any deaths have been caused by the product,” pointing to “the many situations where a medical/health condition was identified as the cause of death, and/or those in which the product was clearly used in a manner contrary to the safety warnings and instructions.”

Early last year, Consumer Reports reported that dozens of people who bought the sleeper were suing Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel, claiming that they were never notified about the recall. 

It’s common for companies to get low responses for recalls on items, but the situation was especially concerning.

“It’s outrageous that millions of these dangerous products could still be out there, with babies at risk of being seriously injured or killed,” Oriene Shin, Consumer Report’s product safety policy counsel, said at the time. “Fisher-Price has had years to get Rock ’n Plays out of people’s homes yet, at best, appears to have done the bare minimum. Slow and ineffective recalls can have terrible consequences, and parents deserve better from a company they rely on for safe baby and toddler products.”