The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Boppy Company of Colorado, have announced a recall on Boppy loungers.
The recall includes Boppy Original Newborn Loungers, Boppy Preferred Newborn Loungers, and Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Loungers.
There has been eight infant death reports from use of this product. CPSC and the Boppy Company urge anyone who owns any of these products to discontinue use immediately.
CPSC said in their report that infants are reportedly being suffocated when being placed on the Boppy Lounger.
"The infants can suffocate if they roll, move, or are placed on the lounger in a position that obstructs breathing, or roll off the lounger onto an external surface, such as an adult pillow or soft bedding that obstructs breathing," the CPSC report read.
"These types of incidents are heartbreaking," said Acting Chairman Robert S. Adler. "Loungers and pillow-like products are not safe for infant sleep due to the risk of suffocation. Since we know that infants sleep so much of the time--even in products not intended for sleep--and since suffocation can happen so quickly, these Boppy lounger products are simply too risky to remain on the market."
Boppy sold about 3.3 million of the loungers nationwide and online, including places like Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
35,000 of these loungers were also distributed in Canada.
"We are devastated to hear of these tragedies," a spokesperson for Boppy commented. "Boppy is committed to doing everything possible to safeguard babies, including communicating the safe use of our products to parents and caregivers, and educating the public about the importance of following all warnings and instructions and the risks associated with unsafe sleep practices for infants."
The spokesperson for Boppy iterated that the lounger was not marketed as an infant sleep product and even included warnings about unsupervised use.
The loungers were sold from Jan. 2004 through Sept. 2021.
CPSC emphasized that the best place for a baby to sleep is on a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet, or play yard. They went on to say that parents should refrain from adding blankets, pillows, padded crib bumpers, or any other items in the infant's sleeping environment.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled loungers and contact the Boppy Company for a refund at 800-416-1355.
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