The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to stop using five brands of baby loungers that violate federal safety regulations and are linked to the deaths of five infants. The loungers were sold online on Amazon and Walmart under the brand names Mamibaby, Yoocaa, DHZJM, Cosy Nation and Hyhuudth. The CPSC believes that all five loungers were manufactured by China-based Ningbo Tree Nest Children Products Co., which has refused to agree to a voluntary recall.
The warning, issued on August 15, 2024, cites multiple violations of the CPSC’s safety standard for infant sleep products, which took effect in June 2022. With respect to the Mamibaby, Yoocaa, DHZJM and Cosy Nation loungers the CPSC warns: “the sides are too low to contain the infant; the sleeping pad is too thick, posing a suffocation hazard; and an infant could fall out of an enclosed opening at the foot of the lounger or become entrapped.” All five brands do not have a stand, which poses a fall hazard if the lounger is used on an elevated surface and is in violation of the applicable safety standard.
According to the CPSC, two infants, ages 10-days and 5-months, died in 2020 and 2021 in Mamibaby loungers when the products were used for bedsharing. Two deaths are also associated with the Yoocaa loungers. In 2021, a 3-month-old who was placed in the Yoocaa lounger on top of an adult bed was found fatally entrapped between the bed and the bedroom wall. In 2022, a 4-month-old was found unresponsive after being placed to sleep in a Yoocaa lounger with a blanket. The fifth infant death involved a 4-month-old who was found unresponsive and face down on a blanket that was placed on top of the DHZJM lounger.
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.
How Can I Tell If My Baby’s Lounger Is Subject to the CPSC Warning?
According to the CPSC, Mamibaby loungers were sold online at Walmart from March 2023 through December 2023 for about $43; Mamibaby and Cosy Nation loungers were sold online at Amazon from June 2023 through June 2024 for between $31 and $50; Yoocaa loungers were sold online at Amazon from January 2021 through June 2023 for between $20 and $87; DHZJM loungers were sold online at Amazon from April 2019 through November 2023 for between $17 and $49; and Hyhuudth loungers were sold online at Amazon from May 2023 through August 2024 for between $39 and $46.
Also, the five loungers were sold in multiple styles and printed fabric options by various third-party sellers and on other websites. Two third-party sellers based in China — d/b/a MEIXIA Shop and Softbless and Yoocaa Direct — sold some of the unsafe loungers on Amazon. The two companies have issued recalls that cover more than 36,000 loungers and are offering a full refund.
All five brands of baby loungers have tags sewn inside the lounger covers which state in part, “SLEEPING SET.” Most Mamibaby, DHZJM, Cosy Nation and Hyhuudth baby loungers also have a tag sewn onto the exterior of the lounger cover with the applicable brand name, although the CPSC is aware of some loungers sold without this tag. DHZJM and Hyhuudth loungers also include a manufacturer tag sewn inside the lounger cover stating: “Ningbo Tree Nest Children Products Co. Ltd.” Yoocaa loungers do not have on-product brand name labels, but the manufacturer “Ningbo Tree Nest Children Products Ltd” is identified on the packaging.
What Should I Do If My Baby Was Injured or Killed in a Ningbo Tree Nest Children Products Lounger?
Edward S. Goldis, a partner and product liability attorney at Feldman Shepherd, recommends contacting a product liability attorney as soon as possible if your child has been injured by an infant lounger.
Goldis said that product liability law requires that all products be safe for their intended as well as expected use. Goldis noted that “this is yet another tragic story of manufacturers copying other products and failing to ensure safe product design. It is especially frustrating because the hazards of unsafe infant sleep design have been well known. It also illustrates the limitations of the CPSC’s ability to keep American consumers and their infants safe.”
The product liability team at Feldman Shepherd, which includes co-founding shareholder Alan M. Feldman and shareholder Daniel J. Mann, has 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.