Local mom questions recent crib recall

A design problem in drop side cribs is being blamed for the deaths of at least four infants. A Burgaw mother who has had her problems with that type of crib said more needs to be done to protect children.

“In 2006, I walked in to my daughter’s room to check on her, and her head was caught in between the mattress, the frame, and the bedrail,” described Deanna Doria of Burgaw.

Deanna daughter, Michaela, was three months old when the accident happened. Luckily, Michaela was not seriously injured.

Deanna said, “When I called the company and told them about it, they offered to send them a repair kit, which right there told me they already knew about the problem and hadn’t said anything.”

That was three years ago. It was not until last year, that a law was passed, requiring safety testing and permitting the government to set tougher mandatory standards for childrens’ products.

Still, the deaths of four children have been linked to a malfunction in the design of the recalled cribs. The recall affects 2.1 million cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing between 1993 and October of this year. Nearly 150,000 of them carry the Fisher Price name.

“The hardware can crack, a depression is made in the bed, and the baby’s head gets caught in that depression and the baby can strangle and die,” described CPSC former Chairman Ann Brown.

Deanna Doria considers herself one of the lucky ones. “If I hadn’t gone in at that time, then I wouldn’t have my daughter right now,” she said.

In the past five years, nearly 5 million cribs have been recalled for a range of problems. Earlier this month, Maclaren recalled one million strollers after 12 children had their fingertips amputated in the stroller’s hinges.