Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2 million infant swings due to safety concerns. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the recall on the company’s Snuga Swings this week due to a risk of suffocation when infants use the swings.
The recall, which includes 21 models of the swing, comes after five deaths were reported between 2012 and 2022. The infants who died in the swings were all between the ages of three months and one year, CPSC said, noting that “most” of the infants were not restrained and that the swings had bedding materials added to them. The infants were all sleeping in the swings at the time of death.
The alert noted that infants should not sleep in infant swings. It also said that extra bedding materials “should never be added to it,” and even the headrest and body support insert “can increase the risk of suffocation.”
While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has long-advised parents not to allow infants to fall asleep in infant swings, it’s not uncommon for parents who are looking for helpful products to get their babies to sleep to let them. Some even routinely rely on swings for nap time. A 2013 AAP warning noted that if a baby falls asleep in a swing (car seat or bouncy seat), a caregiver should “move the child to a firm sleep surface as soon as possible.”
Still, it can be confusing territory for tired parents, especially as some other Fisher-Price products, which closely resemble swings, were designed with nap time and bedtime in mind. The Rock’ N Play Sleeper, which gained popularity with families over claims that it helped soothe infants to sleep, was recalled after a Consumer Reports investigation linked the product to at least 32 deaths. AAP urged it to recall the device.
At the time, Dr. Rachel Moon, chair of the AAP Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), said in a recall demand, “We cannot put any more children’s lives at risk by keeping these dangerous products on the shelves. The Rock’ n Play inclined sleeper should be removed from the market immediately. It does not meet the AAP’s recommendations for a safe sleep environment for any baby.”
Moon added, “Infants should always sleep on their back, on a separate, flat, and firm sleep surface without any bumpers or bedding.
If you have one of the swings on the recall list, which can be found on CPSC’s website, CPSC advises customers who keep the swing to “immediately remove both the headrest (by cutting the tether) and the body support insert from the seat pad before continuing to use the swing.” It added that the brand will provide a $25 refund to those who “remove and destroy the headrest and body support insert.” How to do so can be found here.