Peapod Travel Baby Beds Recalled Over Suffocation Fears

Health Canada and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall Friday of the PeaPod Travel Beds and PeaPod Plus Travel Beds over suffocation concerns, noting that a five-month-old boy died in one of the tents and that the agencies have received nine reports of other infants becoming trapped or experiencing physical distress in the tents.

The recall was announced with travel-bed manufacturer Kidco Inc. The indoor/outdoor travel bed is a pop-up inflatable bed with nylon zip-up side panels, marketed for use by children from birth to three years of age. The travel beds have either a mattress pad or an inflatable air mattress that fits into a zippered pocket underneath the floor of the tent, and the bed folds back up into its storage bag.

In October, Health Canada warned consumers to stop using the PeaPod for infants younger than one year because of concerns it poses a suffocation risk. On Friday, Health Canada and the CPSC announced that the beds are being recalled because infants and young children can roll off the edge of the inflatable air mattress, get trapped between the mattress and the tents fabric sides, and suffocate. In December 2011, a five-month-old boy in New York City was found dead with his face pressed against the side of the tent.

His cause of death was undetermined. Natalie Diaz, a friend of the family whose baby died, told the Huffington Post that the baby was in the tent with his twin sister for a nap but never woke up. CPSC has received six reports of children who got trapped or otherwise experienced physical distress in the tents.

Two of the reports were for infants who were found crying underneath the mattress, which had not been inserted into the zippered pocket on the tents bottom. Health Canada has received three reports of infants rolling over and getting their faces stuck between the mattress and the side of the tent. People who own the PeaPod beds are to stop using them immediately, and contact KidCo to receive a free repair kit.

The repair kits will be shipped beginning next month. Even with the repair kit, however, Health Canada still doesnt recommend using the tent for children younger than one. The beds were made in China and have been sold in Canada and the U.

S. since 2005.