Mattel’s Fisher-Price Recalls More Than 2 Million Infant Swings After 5 Suffocation Deaths

Topline

Fisher-Price recalled more than 2 million swings after five infants reportedly died while using the products for sleep, product safety regulators announced Thursday, the latest recall issued by the Mattel subsidiary after about 100 infants died using the company’s recalled sleeper.

Key Facts

The recall covers models of Fisher-Price’s Snuga Swings sold from October 2010 through January 2024, about 2.1 million of which were sold in the U.S., another 99,000 in Canada and another 500 in Mexico, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The swings were involved in five deaths of one- to three-month-old infants who used the product for sleep between 2012 and 2022, the agency said.

In most of those incidents, the infants were unrestrained and bedding materials were added to the swings, according to the agency, which warned against using the swings for sleep or adding bedding material because the headrest and body support insert on the swings’ seat pads can increase the risk of suffocation.

Fisher-Price offered refunds to all customers with the product, though it also cautioned those who wanted to hold on to the swings and said customers should cut the tether on or remove the headrest and the body support insert before “awake-time activities.”

Tangent

About 100 infants have died as of January 2023 after Fisher-Price recalled its Rock ‘n Play sleeper in 2019, according to the CPSC. Fisher-Price recalled 4.7 million sleepers after more than 30 infants died from rolling onto their stomachs while unrestrained inside the device, though the CPSC noted it was unable to determine whether the sleeper was involved in some of the incidents. Richard Trumka, a CPSC commissioner, criticized Fisher-Price for its recall, which he said was “not good enough to remove these products from homes” before resulting in more deaths.

Key Background

The CPSC has warned parents against leaving their infants alone and unsupervised while they use products like swings, which the agency said “aren’t designed for safe sleeping.” Regulators also cautioned parents from adding pillows or blankets to their baby’s sleep space, adding any products with an angle greater than 10 degrees—including rockers, gliders and soothers—should “never be used for infant sleep.” Nearly 700,000 rocking sleepers were recalled by Kids2 in 2023, after regulators said some infants died after rolling from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained.

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