Summer Infant issues voluntary recall on baby bathers

SUMMER INFANT INC. has issued a voluntary recall of its Mother's Touch/Deluxe Baby Bathers after five injuries - including four skull fractures - were reported. / COURTESY THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
SUMMER INFANT INC. has issued a voluntary recall of its Mother's Touch/Deluxe Baby Bathers after five injuries - including four skull fractures - were reported. / COURTESY THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

WOONSOCKET – Summer Infant Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall on its Mother’s Touch/Deluxe baby bathers due to the risk of serious head injury to infants.

When the bather is lifted or carried with an infant in it, its folding wire frame can disengage from the side hinge, dropping the baby out and posing a fall hazard and the risk of serious head injury to infants.

Summer Infant worked with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada to enact the voluntary recall after the company received seven reports of incidents in the U.S., including five reports of infants suffering head injuries from falls from the bathers.

Four children between two weeks and two months old received skull fractures and one of the four required intensive care for bleeding on the brain. The fifth child received a bump on the head requiring emergency room treatment.

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The recall involves Summer Infant baby bathers with a small, nearly square, blue or plastic base measuring 13.5 inches long by 12.5 inches wide. Specific model numbers can be found here.

Roughly 2 million units were sold in the United States between September 2004 and November 2011 with an additional 65,000 sold in Canada.

Bathers manufactured since July 2007 included the warning “Never lift or carry the bather with infant in it.”

Affected customers should immediately stop using the bathers and contact Summer Infant for a free repair kit that includes a locking strap and instructions.

The company stressed that even with the new locking strapped installed, the bather product should never be used to lift and carry an infant.

To contact the company, call at (800) 426-8627 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit www.summerinfant.com/batherepairkit.

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