PITTSBURGH (WXIN) — More than 2 million infant swings and rockers are being recalled due to the risk of entanglement and strangulation.
On Monday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Thorley Industries, known as 4moms, announced the recall, which involves about 2 million MamaRoo swings and 220,000 RockaRoo rockers. In addition, 60,000 MamaRoo and 10,000 RockaRoo were sold in Canada.
The MamaRoo is a baby swing that offers multiple motions and speeds. The recall only includes models that use a three-point harness. The MamaRoo model that uses a five-point harness is not included in this recall. The RockaRoo is a baby rocker with a front-to-back gliding motion.
The recall was initiated because when not in use, their restraint straps can hang below the seat and non-occupant crawling infants can get tangled in the straps, posing strangulation hazards.
The company said it has received two reports of entanglement incidents involving infants who got caught in the strap under the MamaRoo infant swing. This includes a report in which an infant died from asphyxiation and another infant had to be rescued by a caregiver.
On the Safer Products website, a consumer posted that their 10-month-old son crawled through the space between the base and the seat in 2018. Their son got caught in the strap, which got so tightly twisted around his neck that they had to cut the strap to loosen him.
The consumer reported that their son suffered marks and popped blood vessels all the way around his neck. He also had popped blood vessels around his eyes.
“Very scary and is dangerous if anyone has this product and doesn’t realize the straps underneath can do this,” the consumer wrote in their incident report.
Those straps are the target of the recall. Anyone with the recalled products should contact 4moms immediately to register for a free strap fastener, which will prevent the straps from extending under the swing when not in use.
Until they get the strap fastener, the company said anyone with infants who can crawl should immediately stop using the recalled swings and rockers and place them in an area where crawling infants cannot access.
The company issued the following statement:
“Families put their trust in our company when they choose to bring our products into their homes. That’s why we take every precaution and make the extra effort to ensure that our baby gear products not only meet but exceed all applicable safety standards.
We are deeply saddened by the two incidents that occurred when babies crawled under the seat of unoccupied MamaRoo swings. After investigating the circumstances behind these two reported incidents, 4moms decided to conduct a voluntary recall in partnership with the CPSC.
The free strap fastener kit we have designed is an easy-to-install solution that we believe will prevent any other incidents from happening when a MamaRoo or RockaRoo is not in use and an infant crawls under the seat. We strongly urge our consumers, retailers, and re-seller partners to implement the strap fastener solution to ensure the complete safety of our products.
We will continue to hold ourselves to the highest quality and safety standards so that parents feel safe, secure, and confident in their decision to have 4moms support their family.”
Gary Waters, 4moms CEO
People can contact 4moms toll-free at 877-870-7390 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or by email at safetyandrecall@4moms.com. They can also go to the recall website to order a strap fastener.