Consumer Reports is calling for federal regulators to recall two bedside bassinets amid mounting complaints by parents that they have a tilted sleep surface which is causing their babies to roll into unsafe sleep positions.
Both the Ingenuity Dream & Grow Bedside Bassinet, made by Kids2, and the Halo BassiNest Flex Portable Bassinet have a cantilever design, meaning that they are supported on one side only, with two legs, unlike traditional bassinets which are supported on two sides, with four legs. The two-legged design is marketed to parents for the ability to position the bassinet alongside an adult bed, so they can sleep next to their baby without the dangers of bed-sharing.
Cantilever bassinets have been on the radar of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for at least eight years. In a 2021 letter to voluntary safety-standards-setting organization ASTM International, the CPSC cited incidents as early as 2016 in which infants who were placed in cantilever bassinets “reportedly rolled into the side of the product, or into a prone position.” There have been at least five infant deaths associated with various brands of cantilevered bassinets since 2019. The CPSC cites four of those deaths in its 2021 letter. The fifth death occurred in 2022 after the letter was sent.
While the CPSC did not specify which cantilevered bassinets were involved in the four deaths, a review of reports made to its SaferProduct.gov public database reveals that at least two deaths occurred in the Ingenuity Dream & Grow Bedside Bassinet: In 2019, a 4-month-old who was placed in a swaddle on his back in the Ingenuity bassinet was discovered several hours later by his mother out of the swaddle, on his stomach, not breathing. In 2022, a 1-month-old died after being placed on her back in the Ingenuity bassinet. The mother awoke to find the baby on her stomach.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be put to sleep on their backs, on a separate, flat and firm sleep surface without any bumpers, loose bedding or stuffed toys.
Most recently, in an April 2023 letter to ASTM, the CPSC pushed for the adoption of a safety standard whereby bassinets would be completely flat (0-degree incline), with a tolerance for error not to exceed 1-degree. According to the letter, the ASTM bassinet subcommittee had previously proposed a 7-degree maximum tilt angle, which left the CPSC “concerned.”
Consumer Reports states that its own laboratory evaluation of the Ingenuity Dream & Grow Bedside Bassinet and the Halo BassiNest Flex Portable Bassinet found “the sleep surface of each product tilted significantly when weight was added, supporting parent concerns reported on SaferProducts.gov and in online reviews.”
Some of the concerns (and harrowing stories) expressed by parents about these two bassinets include:
- This bassinet has caused us issues since day 1. The bassinet is slightly slanted and our newborn ends up with his face against the mesh every night. I have switched him facing different directions and he always ends up against the same side. It seems unsafe and we no longer use it at all.
- My son who is barely 10 pounds (manual says 20 max) and not showing any signs of rolling, had his head wedged between the mesh sides and the mattress, which has a gap. At first I thought it was a newborn curl, but I placed him at the end where it attaches to the base. He ended up back in the same spot. I took a look at the whole thing, and it is lopsided by poor design.
- The product description said supporting up to 5 months baby, but our baby boy is only 5 days old (less than 7 pounds) and now already starting to roll to the side that does not have any support arm. It is a disastrous industrial design.
- The product slopes toward the unsupported bed side. My baby literally slides down and when I wake up she has her face in the mesh side. This is something that has been slowly worsening with use. Product is rated up to 5 months or 20lbs. My daughter is 12lbs/2 months and this is unusable.
- Please protect your little one and DO NOT USE THIS. The bassinet is not leveled and will cause your baby to roll towards the side without legs. I have found my baby multiple times in one night with his face rolled and squished against the side wall! I am using alternative sleeping accommodations now.
- This bassinet shouldn’t even be on the market. Completely unsafe for newborns and a suffocation hazard as it isn’t a flat surface and baby can easily end up with their face against the sides or on their stomach.
- I placed my baby in it according to directions, she was only 2 weeks old at the time. I woke up a few hours later to her face-down in the side corner of the bassinet. She does not have the ability to roll yet (she’s still way too young AND a preemie!), so it’s not possible that she rolled there on her own. I believe the bassinet bottom tilted and she shifted her weight and that caused her to roll to the side, with her face shoved into the corner. I believe we’re lucky that she didn’t suffocate.
- I’ve noticed on 3 separate occasions that my infant son rolls and is face planted on one side of the bassinet. Upon further inspection of the mattress it’s clear that it’s slanted, which means if I wasn’t there to correct it he wouldn’t have been able to move his head to breathe. My son is ok, we will stop using the bassinet, but this isn’t a safe product. He lacks the ability to naturally roll in the position I’ve found him in.
- I bought this with hopes of keeping my newborn safely sleeping in my bedroom for at least a few months. First night home, my husband and I found him rolled into the sides of the bassinet pushed against the mesh. Thankfully both of us were up most of the first night and caught it quickly. Very unsafe product. Unfortunately you have to select at least one star.
- I wanted a bedside sleeper for my second child. My son was 3 days old and while he was swaddled in the bassinet, his wiggle motions caused the bottom to lean and then he rolled to the side. His face was against side of the bassinet. It’s not fully mesh when it’s folded up either so I 100% believe it’s a suffocation hazard. The bottom leans and tilts at any motion. It would need something to reinforce the bottom.
- Not safe. The baby rolls from their back to the mesh liner very quickly no matter where you lay the baby in to start. Put my 6 lb baby in the middle and walked away for a few seconds to come back to her face pressed against the sides. Does this every time.
Some parents documented their complaints with photos of their baby wedged against the sidewall of the bassinet, face pressed into the mesh. Others proved that their bassinet was tilted with photos that included a leveling tool. One parent expressed concern that their baby “could have suffered from a fall since their weight was pressed against sidewall mesh fabric that likely is not intended to support the entire weight of a baby.”
But rather than pulling these dangerous bassinets from the market, or remedying the defect, both Kids2 and Halo have responded to a number of negative online reviews by instructing their customers to contact them directly. Some parents who contacted customer service at Halo have reported that the company supplied a same-model replacement bassinet with the same safety issue.
If the Bassinets Are Dangerous, Why Hasn’t the CPSC Recalled Them?
While Consumer Reports is urging the CPSC to investigate and push for the recall of the two bassinets, the CPSC, contrary to popular belief, does not have the authority to unilaterally recall unsafe products without a company’s cooperation. If a company refuses to cooperate, the CPSC must engage in protracted litigation or administrative proceedings to force a recall. Moreover, if the CPSC wants to notify the public about a hazardous product, it usually must get the company’s permission first. If the company objects, which it most likely will do, the CPSC, again, may be forced to litigate the issue.
Due to legal restrictions on what information the CPSC can publicly share without a product manufacturer’s permission, it is unknown what efforts, if any, the CPSC has made to get Kids2 and Halo to voluntarily recall these products.
What Should I Do If My Baby Has Been Injured by an Unsafe Bassinet?
Daniel J. Mann, a product liability attorney and partner at Feldman Shepherd, said there is simply no excuse for an infant sleep product which, by design, causes helpless babies to get into potentially deadly sleep positions. Mann stated, “these products clearly have never undergone a robust hazard analysis, which would have identified these clear dangers. Given the notice to the manufacturers of significant safety issues and deaths, these products must be recalled immediately before any other infants are killed.”
Mann and his team, which includes partners Alan M. Feldman and Edward S. Goldis, have secured substantial recoveries on behalf of infants and young children who have been seriously injured or killed by children’s products, including baby slings, unstable furniture and magnetic toys. They presently represent five families whose babies died in separate incidents in infant loungers, rockers and inclined sleepers, which do not comply with the safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics.