Baby Sleep Product Recalls: Loungers, Rockers and Bumpers

Products made for babies to sleep or rest in appear regularly in recall notices, and the pattern is consistent: a surface that is inclined, padded or low-sided, used for sleep. This page summarizes the main recalls and warnings from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), explains the two federal rules behind them, and sets out the agency’s safe-sleep guidance. It is a summary of official notices, not medical advice. Ask your paediatrician about anything specific to your child.

The two large recalls every parent should know

These two products were sold in very large numbers and are still passed on between families and offered second-hand, which is why the CPSC keeps repeating the warnings.

In both cases the CPSC has said that the products continued to turn up for sale on second-hand marketplaces after the recall. If you are offered either as a hand-me-down, decline it.

Apart from the Fasando case, the recent notices we read that mention incidents report none. These actions were taken because the products breach a safety standard.

The rules behind the recalls

• The Safe Sleep for Babies Act. Since November 12, 2022, inclined sleepers for infants and padded crib bumpers have been banned hazardous products in the United States, whenever they were made. An inclined sleeper is defined as a product with a sleep surface angled at more than ten degrees that is intended, marketed or designed for an infant up to one year old to sleep in. The ban covers selling, making, distributing and importing. Non-padded mesh crib liners are not included.
• The infant sleep products standard. A separate federal rule sets requirements for products sold for infant sleep that are not already covered by the crib, bassinet or play yard standards, including the same ten-degree limit. It applies to products made from June 23, 2022.

Loungers and nursing pillows cause particular confusion. Some are sold for supervised, awake time, and the CPSC has noted that caregivers nonetheless use them for naps or in an adult bed. A product being on sale does not mean it is intended, or safe, for sleep.

The CPSC’s safe-sleep guidance

• Put babies to sleep on their backs.
• Use a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet or play yard that meets the federal standard.
• Keep the sleep space bare: a fitted sheet and nothing else. No pillows, padded bumpers, quilts or comforters.
• Do not use inclined products such as rockers, gliders, soothers and swings for sleep.
• If a baby falls asleep in a seat, swing or lounger, move them to a firm, flat sleep surface.

How to check what you own

1. Look for the brand and model on the sewn-in label or the underside of the product.
2. Search the CPSC’s recalls by brand. Our guide to checking whether a product has been recalled shows how.
3. Check the angle. If a product sold for sleep holds a baby at a visible incline, treat it as unsuitable for sleep whether or not you can find a notice.
4. Be wary of second-hand and hand-me-down sleep products. The ban applies regardless of when a product was made, and older items may predate current standards.
5. Register new nursery products. Manufacturers of durable infant products must provide a registration card so they can contact you about a recall; see how to register a product for recall notices.

Most of the recent remedies are refunds that require you to stop using the product, destroy it and send a photograph. How recall refunds work explains the process, and what your options are when the CPSC has issued a warning with no remedy attached.

How we researched this

This summary is based on CPSC recall notices, CPSC warnings, the agency’s business guidance on the Safe Sleep for Babies Act and its safe-sleep pages. We did not test any product, and we name a company only where a CPSC notice does. The death figures are the CPSC’s, as last published in 2023 for the two large recalls; they may have been updated since.