Last week,, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (http://www.cpsc.gov)  in conjunction with IKEA Home Furnishings of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, recalled approximately 20,000 Sniglar™ Cribs sold in the U.S. and almost 6,000 sold in Canada.  The recall was specifically directed to the Sniglar non-drop side, full-size crib, Model No. 60091931. 

For consumer identification, the names "Sniglar" and "IKEA" and the model number are printed on a label attached to the mattress support.  The crib frame and mattress support are made of light colored or natural finish wood.  The reason for the recall is the four (4) bolts provided with the crib to secure the mattress support are not long enough to properly extend through the nuts and can come loose, causing the mattress support to detach and collapse, and at the same time pose a risk to a child in the crib of strangulation and suffocation.

The cribs were sold exclusively by IKEA from October 2005 to June 2010 for approximately $80 and imported from and manufactured in Romania.

Consumers who have the Sniglar cribs Model 60091931 should stop using the crib immediately and check the crib and mattress support bolts to see if the bolts properly extend through the nuts; and if they do not, immediately contact IKEA for a repair kit or refund information.  If the bolts do extend properly through the nuts, the crib is not included in this recall.

IKEA can be reached toll free by phone at (888) 966-4532 anytime, or visit the firm's website at http://www.ikea-usa.com   The Consumer Product Safety Commission is still interested in receiving reports of any adverse events related to these cribs.  Health Canada's press release may also be found at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1266 and photos of the cribs being recalled can also be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11135.html

 Also, Childsafetyblog.org recommends obtaining additional information on crib safety by visiting the CPSC Crib Safety Website:  http://www.cpsc.gov/info/cribs/index.html

Bassinets Recalled by Burlington Basket

 Burlington Basket Company of Burlington, Iowa, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have recalled approximately 500,000 baby bassinets due to faulty cross-bracing rails. 

 The reason for the recall of the bassinet with folding legs is if its cross-bracing rails are not fully locked into position, the bassinets can collapse causing an infant to fall in the bassinet or fall onto the floor causing injury to the child.  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Burlington Basket received ten (10) reports of incidents of collapse when the folding legs of the bassinet failed and two reports of injuries to children. 

 The bassinets were sold throughout the United States by Walmart and other department stores from January 2003 through August 2010 for about $50.  Consumers should stop using Burlington Basket bassinets with folding legs immediately and contact the company for information on how to receive a repair kit or a refund.  Burlington Basket can be reached at Burlington Basket Company at (800)553-2300 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central Time or consumers can visit the company's website: http://www.burlingtonbasket.com

ChildSafetyBlog.org thinks all of this is way too hard on baby! Apparently others agree. On February 17, CNN's Sanjay Gupta, MD, aired a several-minute spot devoted to crib injuries, and according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics, which Dr. Gupta highlighted in CNN's blog, "an average of 26 children suffer a crib-related injury every day."

( http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/16/study-average-of-26-children-hurt-by-cribs-every-day/?iref=allsearc)

Also, according to Dr. Gary A. Smith, the lead author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital (http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/injury-research-and-policy ) "9,500 children a year [are] treated in emergency departments for crib-related injuries."

So as parents, family members, caregivers, and babysitters, we need to check our children's cribs and bassinets to make sure we don't have the faulty ones. And if we do, contact the companies immediately. Always remember:  safer is better.