MUSCATINE, Iowa — A Muscatine mom is calling attention to the recall of a popular baby product.
The Boppy Company makes pillows and loungers for infants. It is now recalling 3.3 million of it's lounge pillows for babies.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been eight reports of infant deaths associated with the product. The infants reportedly suffocated after being placed on their back, side or stomach on the lounger and were found on their side or on their stomach. The infant deaths occurred between December 2015 and June 2020.
“These types of incidents are heartbreaking,” said Acting Chairman Robert S. Adler. “Loungers and pillow-like products are not safe for infant sleep, due to the risk of suffocation. Since we know that infants sleep so much of the time – even in products not intended for sleep – and since suffocation can happen so quickly, these Boppy lounger products are simply too risky to remain on the market.”
These loungers are sold at stores all over the country, including Pottery Barn Kids, Target, and Walmart and online at Amazon.com. The loungers were sold from January 2004 through September 2021 for between $30 and $44.
Muscatine Mom Lisa Wolf works as a safe sleep advocate through the Theo Wolf Foundation. She started it in honor of her infant son, Theo, who she says died at 12 weeks old because of unsafe sleep practices while in someone else's care.
Wolf stressed that this recall shows this product is not safe.
"It is not safe to use whether you're supervising your child or watching them closely. Unfortunately, I always tell parents is that a sleeping baby looks the same as a dead baby. And I can unfortunately attest to that," she said.
"And the suffocation can happen in just a matter of seconds for infants," she said. "So it's not even worth continuing to use and putting your child in, you know, in that kind of danger."
Wolf has been sharing the details of the recall on her social media hoping it's seen by as many parents and caregivers as possible. The Theo Wolf Foundation is offering to buy back the loungers for $10 to get them out of use.
"We offer to buy these unsafe sleep products, just as a way to also get them off of the market, out of the hands of parents," she explained. "We understand that going through the recall process and going through that manufacturer can take time. Maybe not everybody has access to a computer or the time to take it back to a store. We'll do what we can do to help with that. So we have offered to buy these products for $10 each. We will give you $10 cash, and we will actually dispose of them properly."
Learn more about the Theo Wolf Foundation through their Facebook page.
Wolf is also sharing Theo's story on an episode of WQAD News 8 Anchor Denise Hnytka's podcast, On A Mother Level.
The episode covers Lisa Wolf's pregnancy with Theo, choosing a daycare provider, the last days of Theo's life and how she is remembering him through the Theo Wolf Foundation. Lisa also shares the miracle of her daughter, Laney, born 10 months ago.