Be Child Safe

Month: December 2015

  • Skip Hop Recalls Crib Mobiles Due to Injury Hazard

    Recall Date: December 16, 2015

    Recall Number: 16-059

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: Skip Hop crib mobiles

    Hazard: The strap attaching the product to the crib rail can break, posing an injury hazard if the product falls on the infant in the crib.

    Remedy: Replace

    Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled mobiles and contact the firm for instructions on receiving a $75 coupon towards the purchase of a new Skip Hop product.

    Consumer Contact: Skip Hop toll-free at 877-475-4746 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, by email at customerservice@skiphop.com or online at www.skiphop.com and click on “Safety Notices” at the bottom of the page under “Customer Care” for more information.

    Recall Details

    Photos available at www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Skip-Hop-Recalls-Crib-Mobiles/

    Units: About 3,500 (an additional 850 were sold in Canada)

    Description: This recall includes the Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies projection crib mobiles. The mobile has a white plastic arm that attaches to the side of a crib with four blinking, glowing leaves with stuffed animal attachments. The mobile also has a projector on the top of the mobile that projects stars on the ceiling and plays eight nursery lullabies. The dangling stuffed animals on the mobile include a yellow and gray giraffe, a green turtle with a gray and white polka-dot shell, a brown and tan monkey and a gray and white striped owl. The mobiles measure 17.5 inches long by 14 inches wide by 22 inches tall. SKIP HOP and the model number 185509 are printed on the back of the mobile base.

    Incidents/Injuries: Skip Hop has received 8 reports of the strap attaching the mobile to the crib breaking. No injuries have been reported.

    Sold at: Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and other independent juvenile specialty stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and skiphop.com from July 2015 to November 2015 for about $65.

    Importer: Skip Hop Inc., of New York, N.Y.

    Manufactured in: China

    Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2015/56338r-eng.php

  • The Maternal Mortality Rate is… Going Up?

    Recently, several reliable news articles have highlighted the CDC’s conclusion that “the number of U.S. women dying due to pregnancy and childbirth more than doubled in 25 years1.” (“Why is the maternal mortality rate going up in the United States?”, Wallace, Kelly, CNN, 12/1/2015)  Twenty-five years ago, the rate was reported to have been 7.2 deaths of mothers per 100,000 live births in the U.S.  Currently, there are some theories why the numbers have jumped to 17.8 deaths per 100,000 births. (CNN, 12/1/2015)

    One theory about this increase in numbers from 1987 to now is that many women in their child-bearing years presently have health problems associated with obesity (such as diabetes or hypertension) which can complicate pregnancies and deliveries, as well as the recovery process from those deliveries.  In addition, more C-sections are being performed and any time there is surgery, there is the possibility of infection or a negative outcome.

    An unusual factor that may contriibute to the increase in numbers, Kelly Wallace of CNN points out, according to Dr. Andreea Creanga with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health, is an administrative factor in the manner standard U.S. death certificates in certain states now include a check-box.  Until now, the Standard U.S. Death Certificate was based on a form created in 19892. (“Has Maternal Mortality Really Doubled in the U.S.?”, Maron, Dina Fine; Scientific American, 6/8/2015) The current form’s check-box indicates more specifically than previously the manner of women’s deaths who were or may have been pregnant prior to their death (up to a year).  Not all states have adopted the use of this new death certificate, however, but this change in manner of recordation may have affected the numbers.

    According to Wallace, some physicians are of the opinion that pre-natal care of women who are pregnant in some cases is lacking. In the African-American community. According to CDC’s Dr. Creanga, frequently “mothers are younger, more likely to be unmarried and will not have begun pre-natal care until their third trimester of pregnancy or not at all.” (CNN, 12/1/2015)  Creanga noted that poverty and lack of insurance also play a part in whether young women get pre-natal care or not.

    Doctors across the country are focusing their attention on the contributing factors in this mortality rate increase. The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists’ Safe Mother Initiative is one result. Also the National Partnership of Maternal Safety is urging standardized care for pregnancy and childbirth complications so hospitals could follow standardized protocols for dealing with common issues that could cause the death of a mother or her offspring.

    1 “Why is the maternal mortality rate going up in the United States?” , Wallace, Kelly, CNN, December 1, 2015. http://www.us.cnn.com/2015/12/01/health/maternal-mortality-rate-u-s-increasing-why/index.html

    2  “Has Maternal Mortality Really Doubled in the U.S.?”, Maron, Dina Fine; Scientific American, June 8, 2015. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-maternal-mortality-really-doubled-in-the-u-s/