Two infant deaths prompt CPSC to re-announce recall of Simplicity bassinets

The Consumer Product Safety Commission last week re-announced its recall of the Simplicity bassinets after learning of two additional wrongful deaths of infants and two other episodes where infants were entrapped but freed by parents or caregivers before suffering injury.

The reason for the recall is that there is a defective design of the product in  that it has a gap between the rails which is large enough for an infant to slide between and become entrapped, creating a strangulation or suffocation hazard.  The photos of a mannequin on the CPSC announcement are chilling and truly show the danger posed by this product.

The manufacturer of this product has gone out of business, and some stores are accepting returns of the models involved in the recall.  However, regardless of whether the bassinet can be returned, children should not be left in this bassinet.