Summer Infant’s SwaddleMe By Your Bed Sleeper Isn’t Safe

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been warning parents not to use inclined sleepers for months now, after a series of infant deaths and an investigation by Consumer Reports led to a recall of the very popular inclined sleeper, the Fisher-Price Rock n’ Play.

The Rock n’ Play recall led to other recalls, and eventually to the CPSC developing public service messaging asking parents to avoid all inclined sleeping products.

This week the CPSC issued a warning about a specific product, Summer Infant, Inc.’s SwaddleMe By Your Bed Sleeper.

In a statement, the commission explained: “Based on CPSC staff’s evaluation of the product, how it is used, and outside expert analysis, CPSC staff believes that the Summer Infant SwaddleMe By Your Bed Sleeper puts infants at risk of suffocation. Although CPSC is not aware of any incidents or deaths involving the Summer Infant SwaddleMe By Your Bed Sleeper, CPSC urges consumers to stop using the product immediately.”

This comes after the Manning report, conducted independently by expert Erin Mannen, Ph.D., a mechanical engineer specializing in biomechanics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She tested and evaluated the design of inclined sleep products for infants and found that “products with inclines 10 degrees or less, with flat and rigid surfaces, are likely safe for infant sleep [and that] soft and plush-like sleep surfaces pose dangers to infants,” the CPSC states.

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In a statement to Motherly, a spokesperson for SUMR Brands explained the company has already stopped making and selling this product.

“No caregiver has ever reported an injury or death in the SwaddleMe By Your BedSleeper,” they explain.

The statement continues: “The company hasn’t produced the By Your Bed Sleeper in more than a year, and has no plans to make more. The product is no longer being sold by any major retailers. The By Your Bed Sleeper has significant design differences from other inclined sleepers. The CPSC is developing new rules for this category. We fully support that process, along with any new rules, once they have been set.”

It’s important to note that the CPSC announcement is a warning, not a recall, but the CPSC still wants a recall. It just has not yet reached an agreement with Summer Infant for a voluntary recall. (Almost all recalls are voluntary, it’s rare that the CPSC has to issue a mandatory recall—that only happens when a company can’t or won’t take part).

Bottom line: The CPSC wants parents to avoid all inclined sleepers.