Do you put your baby in a Summer Infant Mother’s Touch/Deluxe Baby Bather? Check it immediately to see if it has been recalled. About 2 million of the bathers were sold in the U.S. between September 2004 and November 2011.
If you have one, stop using it immediately until you have installed a free repair kit that includes a locking strap. CPSC and Summer Infant have received seven reports of incidents, including five reports of infants suffering head injuries—including skull fractures—from falls from this product:
Summer Infant Baby Bather
Here’s what happens: When you lift the bath product and baby together, the folding wire frame can suddenly disengage from the side hinge. Your baby can drop out of the bather. Baby bathers manufactured since July 2007 include the warning, “Never lift or carry the bather with infant in it.”
Four children between the ages of 2 weeks and 2 months old fractured their skulls in falls. One of those children required intensive care due to bleeding on the brain. A fifth baby had a bump to the head requiring emergency room treatment.
The recall to repair involves Summer Infant baby bathers with a small, nearly square blue or pink plastic base. Check this recall announcement for specific model information that will tell you whether your baby bather is included in the recall. Products sold since November 2011 are not included in this recall.
For additional information and to order a free repair kit designed to prevent the frame from suddenly folding if the bather is lifted with a baby in it, call Summer Infant at (800) 426-8627 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s recall page. The repair kit includes a locking strap and instructions.
