The "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" bassinets are made by Simplicity Inc. of Reading, PA. The agency's safety alert was prompted by the death of a 6-month-old Kansas girl who died from strangulation Aug. 21 after getting caught in the product's metal bars, the Washington Post said Friday.
In September 2007, a 4-month-old infant from Noel, MO, became entrapped in the metal bars and died, the CPSC said.
According to the federal agency, some 900,000 of the 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets may be in circulation. Their metal bars are spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum limit allowed by federal law.
The metal bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by Velcro. The fabric is folded down when the bassinet is converted into a bedside co-sleeping position. The baby can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate if the Velcro is not properly resecured when the flap is adjusted, the CPSC noted.
The agency issued the warning after SFCA, the company that bought now-defunct Simplicity's assets earlier this year, refused to issue a recall.
The CPSC announced that six retailers have agreed to stop selling the Simplicity bassinets and will conduct their own recalls of 900,000 of the bassinets. The retailers are Wal-Mart, Kmart, Toys 'R' Us, Big Lots, J.C. Penney and Target.
