More than 2 million Stork Craft and Fisher-Price cribs recalled after four infants die

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More than 2 million drop-side baby cribs built by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. are being recalled in the U.S. and Canada after the deaths of four infants.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Canadian government agency Health Canada announced the recall, which is being issued with the help of the Canadian company.

About 147,000 of the recalled Stork Craft drop-side cribs were branded with the Fisher-Price logo.

The recall includes more than 1.2 million cribs sold in the United States and 968,000 cribs sold in Canada, the commission said today. Only drop-side cribs are included in the recall, the statement said.

Parents are asked to stop using the recalled cribs immediately. They shouldn’t attempt to fix the cribs until a free repair kit is available, the commission said.

The problem is with the cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware, which can break, deform or fall apart. The recalled cribs featured plastic triggers and a hardware system that allows the side to be lowered using one hand, the statement said.

The drop-side can detach from the crib in one or more corners, creating a space between the drop-side and the crib mattress, the commission said. Infants and toddlers can become trapped in the space and either fall out of the crib, become injured or suffocate, the statement said.The massive Stork Craft recall isn’t the first for drop-side cribs.

In July, about 400,000 drop-side cribs built by Simplicity Inc. were recalled by the commission for similar injury and suffocation risks. About 1,900 SunKids convertible cribs, which featured a drop-side and were made in China and imported by Suntech Enterprises Inc., were recalled by the commission over similar suffocation concerns.

The commission, Health Canada and Stork Craft have received reports of a combined 110 incidents in which crib drop-sides became detached; 67 took place in the U.S. and 43 in Canada.

There were 15 reports of children becoming trapped. Twelve were in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the children suffocated. In addition, 20 children fell from cribs, resulting in bumps, bruises and concussions, the commission said. Twelve of the falls happened in the U.S. and eight were in Canada, the statement said.

Stork Craft built the recalled cribs from January 1993 to October 2009, including the Fisher-Price-branded cribs, which were manufactured from October 1997 to December 2004, the commission said.

The Fisher-Price cribs were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998.

Major retailers sold the cribs, including Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, JCPenney, USA Baby, Meijer and BJ’s Wholesale Club, the statement said. The cribs were also sold online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009.

The recalled cribs sold for $100 and $400 and were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Owners of the cribs are asked to contact Stork Craft at (877) 274-0277 or visit Storkcraft.com to order their free crib-repair kit.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Photos, from top: Child-size doll positioned in drop-side crib to demonstrate how infants can get stuck; a recalled Fisher-Price-branded crib, built by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., with detail of one-hand drop-side system. Credit: Consumer Product Safety Commission