What do you need to know about this Recall?
The Bumbo seat is labeled and marketed to help infants sit in an upright position as soon as they can support their head. Their product warnings state that the seat “may not prevent release of your baby in the event of vigorous movement.” Consumers should be aware that infants as young as 3 months can fall or escape from the seat by simply arching backward, leaning forward or sideways or rocking.
The original recall announcement for this product was first issued in 2007, when the CPSC first became aware of 28 falls that had occurred as a result of this product, three of which resulted in skull fractures to infants who fell or maneuvered out of the product used on an elevated surface. As of November 22nd, 2011, the CPSC and Bumbo International are now additionally aware of at least 46 falls from Bumbo seats used on elevated surfaces that occurred prior to the 2007 recall, resulting in 14 skull fractures, two concussions and one incident of a broken limb. Infants aged 3-10 months old have fallen out of the Bumbo seat and suffered skull fractures and other injuries.
The original 2007 recall required that new warnings be placed on the seat to deter elevated usage of the product. Since the time of the 2007 recall, CPSC and Bumbo International have learned that 17 of those infants, ages 3-10 months, suffered skull fractures. These incidents and injuries involved both recalled Bumbo seats and Bumbo seats sold after the recall with the additional on-product warnings.
CPSC and Bumbo International are also aware of an additional 50 reports of infants falling or maneuvering out of Bumbo seats used on the floor and at unknown elevations. These incidents include two reports of skull fractures and one report of a concussion that occurred when babies fell out of Bumbo seats used on the floor. These injuries reportedly occurred when the infants struck their heads on hard flooring, or in one case, on a nearby toy.
Approximately 3.85 million Bumbo seats have been sold in the United States since 2003.
What should you do if you own one of these products?
Parents and caregivers alike should be aware that this product can prevent a potentially serious and fatal fall hazard if the product is placed upon a high surface, and some falls have been reported to have occurred even on the floor or at other unknown levels, so infants or children should never be left at all unattended sitting in this product. Consumers need to exercise their own judgement as to whether or not they feel they should continue to use this product at all, even if it’s warning symbol has been updated, because often it is almost impossible to make sure each caregiver fully understands the extent of the hazards that can be associated with this product and thereby the ability to continuosly monitor the use of the product is not always possible, so it may be best to discontinue usage of this product altogether. Please visit the CPSC website for further product details and updates.
