Parents warned to stop using recalled Boppy loungers linked to at least 10 infant deaths

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on June 6, 2023

(NEW YORK) — Parents were advised Tuesday to stop using recalled newborn loungers from The Boppy Company that have been linked to at least 10 infant deaths.

According to The Boppy Company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which issued a news release Tuesday, the newborn loungers may cause infants to “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.”

The products were first recalled two years ago and impacted by the September 2021 recall include Boppy Original Newborn Loungers, Boppy Preferred Newborn Loungers, and Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Loungers.

Although the newborn loungers can no longer be sold legally, the CPSC noted that the recalled products have still been available online through social media sites such as Facebook Marketplace.

“It is unlawful to offer for sale a CPSC recalled product on an online marketplace or to sell or donate a recalled product in any other manner,” the federal agency said in its statement.

There have been at least eight infant deaths from a Boppy newborn lounger between December 2015 and June 2020, according to The Boppy Company. But after the 2021 recall, the CPSC said at least two more infants died after they were placed in Boppy newborn loungers.

“One death occurred in October 2021. In the incident, an infant was reportedly placed on the lounger for sleep and then rolled underneath a nearby adult pillow. The cause of death was positional asphyxia. In November 2021, an infant was placed on a Newborn Lounger in an adult bed with a parent and soft bedding and was later found deceased on the lounger. The cause of death was undetermined,” the CPSC said.

Both the CPSC and Boppy said anyone with Boppy newborn loungers should stop using the products immediately. Customers can request instructions on how to dispose of a recalled lounger and ask for a refund from The Boppy Company through their website.

To contact The Boppy Company, customers can call 800-416-1355 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on weekdays.

The CPSC also reminded parents to set up a safe sleep environment for children, which includes a firm and flat surface in a crib, bassinet or play yard for babies. Babies should always be placed on their backs for sleeping and soft items like blankets, pillows, padded crib bumpers “should never” be added to an infant’s sleeping area, the CPSC added.