6th Infant Death Due to Nanny Nap Infant Recliner Recall

An 8-month-old baby girl died recently in Hopatcong, New Jersey, after getting trapped between her crib bumper and her Nap Nanny Infant Recliner. Her death marks the sixth one associated with this line of infant recliners that was recalled in its entirety in June 2013. Once the recall was issued, it became a federal offense to “sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States” any model of these products made by the now-defunct Baby Matters LLC of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

For added safety, the CPSC urges all consumers to immediately stop using and dispose of these products so they cannot be used again by anyone. Four major retailers — Amazon, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com, and Toys R Us / Babies R Us — issued a voluntary recall of these items in December 2012 but some products are thought to be still available as hand-me-downs and personal gifts and for sale at flea markets, garage/yard sales, online auctions, and other non-traditional retail venues.

From 2009 until the June 2013 recall, the CPSC received no fewer than 92 incident reports from consumers using the product line:

Five of these reports were reports of death.
Five of the six deaths occurred when the Nap Nanny recliner was placed in a crib surrounded by soft crib bumpers.

The reports involved infants who got trapped while hanging over the side or from falling off the recliners, even though some of them were restrained in the harness supplied with the product. Injury occurs when the baby slides out of position and gets trapped between the recliner and crib bumpers or suffocates while inside the soft Nap Nanny itself.

Approximately 165,000 Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill infant recliners were sold from 2009 to 2012 at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $130. Consumers who purchased one of these products at the four major retailers mentioned above are asked to contact the retailer for refund instructions. Baby Matters LLC is no longer in business so it cannot accept returns or issue refunds.

For maximum safety to a sleeping infant, always place him or her in bedding free of all soft bumpers, stuffed toys and dolls, pillows, blankets, and all other forms of thick, soft baby bedding. Place the child to sleep on its back, not on its tummy or sides. Put the baby to sleep this way in cribs, bassinets, playpens, and on all other sleep surfaces.

Sources: “Another Death Reported in a Nap Nanny Infant Recliner.” OnSafety. US Consumer Product Safety Commission. May 27, 2014. Web. Jun 25, 2014.

“Nap Nanny and Chill Infant Recliners Recalled by Baby Matters LLC After Five Infant Deaths; CPSC, Firm Settle Administrative Litigation / US Consumer Product Safety Commission -- News Release.” Nap Nanny / Chill. Nap Nanny. Jun 13, 2013. Web. Jun 25, 2014.