Infant Death Prompts Nap Nanny Recliner Recall

On July 26, 2010 the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the Berwyn, Pa.-based Baby Matters company, issued a recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny Recliners, a popular product to help infants with reflux and colic to sleep better. The recall came on the heels of the death of a 4-month-old baby girl from Royal Oak, Mich., who was found trapped between a crib bumper and the Nap Nanny.

Nap Nanny Injuries

The Nap Nanny hit the shelves in 2009 and became an instant hit among parents of infants who had sleep problems or digestive issues such as colic and reflux. The contoured foam bed holds babies at a 30 degree angle, an optimal position for sleep for infants with digestive problems. The $130 device sold well in 2009 and 2010, but during the same time period the CPSC slowly collected reports of injuries related to the Nap Nanny recliner.

In spite of many warning labels instructing parents and caregivers never to use the Nap Nanny seat on an elevated surface, and never to use against a wall or in a crib or playpen, most injuries reported to CPSC involve such conditions. The Michigan infant's death prompted this full Nap Nanny recliner recall.

CPSC Nap Nanny Recall

Most injuries occur with infants under 5 months of age, and in many cases the infant remains harnessed but wriggles enough to send the top half of the body over the edge of the Nap Nanny, leading to suffocation, entrapment, and fall injuries.

Nap Nanny owners are instructed to contact Baby Matters directly at 800-240-4282 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST for specific directions on returning or fixing the product.