02/25/2026
Study: At least 50 infants died in inclined sleepers after
recall
February 23, 2026
Melissa Jenco, Senior News Editor
Article type: News
Topics: Advocacy , Fetus/Newborn Infant , Home Safety , Patient Education/Patient Safety/Public Education , SIDS ,Sleep Medicine
At least 50 infants died in an inclined sleeper after the products were recalled, according to a new study. “It is important that caregivers and infant supervisors are aware of recalls and of the AAP safe sleep recommendations,” authors wrote in “Sudden Unexpected Infant Death in Inclined Sleepers: 2009-2023”
(Mintz S, Collier A. Pediatrics. Feb. 23, 2026).
Infants in inclined sleepers are at risk for suffocation. In April 2019, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall of nearly 5 million inclined sleepers after reports of infant deaths. Later that year, it issued a warning saying it had received 1,108 incident reports related to infant sleepers that occurred from January 2005 to June 2019. In 2022, Congress passed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, which bans the manufacturing and distribution of inclined sleepers and crib bumpers. Passage of the law followed years of AAP advocacy. Still, the CPSC
re-announced recalls in 2023 after additional infant deaths.
Authors of the new study from the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention noted some inclined sleepers were rebranded as swings or loungers after the 2022 law was signed and changes may have caused confusion among parents and caregivers. Some also may have purchased secondhand sleepers
and not been aware of the recall. The authors aimed to learn more about the infants who died in inclined sleepers. They analyzed data from the Pediatric National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System that include 158 such deaths from 2009-2023. Fifty of the children died after the 2019 recall. Among all 158 infants in the study, about two-thirds were under 4 months of age. About 58% were male, half
were non-Hispanic white and 64% had public insurance.
Nearly 30% of the infants were placed on their back but found unresponsive on their stomach or side, according to the study. About 32% had an obstructed airway, 30% were unobstructed and in 38% of cases airway obstruction was not known. Among infants with airway obstruction, just over half were obstructed by
material from the sleeper and just over one-third were obstructed by other soft bedding (not mutually exclusive).
The AAP recommends infants sleep on their backs on a firm, flat, non-inclined surface with no loose bedding or soft objects. For at least the first six months, infants should share a room with their caregiver but on a separate surface designed for infant sleep.
