Following more reports of serious injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is renewing its warning for Baby Bumpo Seats. The CPSC announced that, due to the serious risk of injury to babies, it and Bumbo International Trust of South Africa are urging parents and caregivers to never place Bumbo Baby Seats on tables, countertops, chairs, or other raised surfaces.
Infants aged 3-10 months old have fallen out of the Baby Bumbo Seat and suffered skull fractures and other injuries. To date, CPSC and Bumbo International are aware of at least 45 incidents in which infants fell out of a Baby Bumbo Seat while it was being used on an elevated surface and which occurred after an October 25, 2007 voluntary recall of the defective Bumbo Seat. That recall notice can be accessed at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08046.html.
The recall mandated new warnings be placed on the Baby Bumbo Seat to deter elevated usage of the product; however, since that recall, the CPSC and Bumbo International have learned that 17 of those infants, ages 3-10 months, suffered skull fractures. These incidents and injuries involved both recalled Bumbo Seats and Bumbo Seats sold after the recall with the additional on-product warnings.
CPSC and Bumbo International stated that they are aware of an additional 50 reports of infants falling or maneuvering out of Baby Bumbo Seats that were used on the floor, but at unknown elevations. These reports include two skull fractures and one concussion that occurred when babies fell out of Bumbo Seats used on the floor. These injuries allegedly took place when the babies struck their heads on hard flooring, or in one case, on a nearby toy.
The recalled Bumbo Seat is labeled and marketed to help infants sit in an upright position as soon as the baby is able to support his/her head. Product warnings indicate that the seat “may not prevent release of your baby in the event of vigorous movement.” Infants as young as 3 months can fall or escape from the seat by arching backward, leaning forward or sideways, or rocking.
At the time of the 2007 recall announcement, CPSC was aware of 28 falls from the product, three resulted in skull fractures in babies who fell or worked their way out of the Bumbo Seat that was placed on a raised surface. CPSC and Bumbo International are now aware of at least 46 falls from Baby Bumbo Seats placed on elevated surfaces and that took place before the 2007 recall. These 46 falls resulted in 14 skull fractures, two concussions, and one incident of a broken limb.
Approximately 3.85 million Bumbo Seats have been sold in the United States since 2003.
