A Consumer Product Safety Commissioner called the recall remedy “worthless” and a “failure” as it will leave the infant swings in homes without major changes.
WASHINGTON — More than 63,000 infant swings that were sold at Walmart stores and online at multiple retailers are being recalled due to a suffocation risk, federal regulators said. But one Consumer Product Safety Commissioner has criticized the recall as a “failure.”
Jool Baby’s Nova Baby infant swings violated safety laws as they were marketed, intended or designed for infant sleep but had an incline angle greater than 10 degrees, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday.
Additionally, the infant swings failed to meet mandatory warning requirements regarding sleep, the agency said.
The recalled Nova Baby swings, manufactured between June 2022 and September 2023, were sold for $150 at Walmart stores and online at Jool Baby’s website. The infant swings were also available for purchase online at Amazon, Babylist, Walmart and Target.
Consumers were advised to immediately stop using the recalled swings. No injuries or deaths have been reported in relation to the recall.
As part of the recall, consumers with the affected products can sign up for a free repair kit from Jool Baby. The kit included a new seat, updated product warnings, new plush toys and an updated remote control.
Shortly after the recalled was posted Thursday, CPSC Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr. deemed the remedy “worthless” and a “failure” as it will leave these recalled sleepers in homes.
“The company is offering a ‘repair kit’ for consumers to simply swap out some of the cosmetic parts of the product that indicated to consumers that they are for sleep,” the commissioner said in a statement. “After the repair kit is installed, this product is still an inclined sleeper. It still plays soothing lullabies. And it can still suffocate a baby put to sleep in it.”
“My advice is to simply throw these products away. The recall remedy does not make them safe,” he continued. “It’s CPSC’s job to ensure that products designed like the Rock ‘n Play, an inclined infant sleeper linked to over 100 infant deaths, are not in your homes.”
Despite having no injuries or deaths linked to the recall, the swings are considered inclined infant sleepers, which were banned more than a year ago after dozens of baby deaths.
The Safe Sleep for Babies Act was signed into law in May 2022, shortly before Jool Baby began manufacturing the infant swings.
