Five infant deaths are associated with cantilevered baby bassinets; CR calls for improvements to the bassinet safety standard to ensure the sleep surface is actually flat
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Reports (CR) today urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate and push for the recall of both the Kids2 Ingenuity Dream & Grow Bedside Bassinet and Halo BassiNest Flex Portable Bassinet after numerous reports that the bassinets do not provide a flat sleep surface for infants—potentially increasing the risk of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Since 2019, at least five infant deaths have been associated with various brands of cantilevered baby bassinets, products that are not equally supported on each side. These bassinets can tilt and create unsafe infant sleep environments that are in direct conflict with expert medical guidance, putting babies at risk of rolling to the side of the bassinet or onto their stomach.
A new investigation published today by CR cites accounts from online reviews and complaints to the CPSC that the designs of these two bassinets lack stability and may not provide a level sleeping surface. CR identified at least two infant deaths linked to the Ingenuity bassinet. In each case, the baby was put to sleep on their back but was later found on their stomach. CR also identified hundreds of reports and consumer reviews of the Ingenuity and Halo bassinets not staying level and causing the baby to roll over. In a letter sent to the CPSC today, CR alerted the agency to the serious safety concerns and called for the agency to investigate the Ingenuity and Halo bassinets and push for recalls of these products.
“A safe sleep environment for babies is nonnegotiable,” Oriene Shin, policy counsel for Consumer Reports, said. “It’s terrifying to think that these bassinets have been putting babies at risk for years with little action. Companies have a responsibility to address serious design issues as soon as they are reported—before it’s too late.”
While many of the babies for which these bassinets are intended cannot roll over on their own, the design of these bassinets can cause them to roll over anyway and press their faces against the mattress, the bassinet’s side wall, or the edge where the wall meets the mattress, risking suffocation. According to reports from parents and caregivers in online reviews and incident reports to the CPSC, these two bassinets make it difficult for babies not to roll over while they sleep because the bassinets will not stay level. Major retailers including Amazon, Target, and Walmart sell these products.
In light of the serious nature of the potential hazards, CR is urging the CPSC to conduct its own evaluations of the Kids2 Ingenuity Dream & Grow Bedside Bassinet, the Halo BassiNest Flex Portable Bassinet, and other similar models of bassinets to see whether and how much they tilt laterally. CR also supports CPSC staff recommendations sent to leaders of the ASTM International subcommittee on bassinets, a standards-setting panel, that would strengthen the current safety standard for bassinets by adding a requirement for a maximum lateral angle of 0 degrees, with a tolerance not to exceed 1 degree.
Every year in the U.S., around 3,500 babies die suddenly in their sleep, and many of those deaths are likely due to unsafe sleep environments. According to safe infant sleep guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), babies should sleep alone, on their back, on a firm, flat, noninclined surface, with no extra padding or loose objects like pillows, blankets, or toys in their space. Caregivers should stop using any bassinet that shows signs of instability or tilting or otherwise seems to cause a newborn to roll over.