“We trusted a named brand and we were wrong.”
One mum is opening up about the harrowing loss of her daughter to help raise awareness about harmful baby products. Erika Richter’s daughter Emma died at two weeks old. Her baby girl died when she was in her Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper.
Emma is one of the dozens of infants who died due to the now recalled product. It is understood that the sleeper was taken off the market in 2019, after 10 years.
The heartbroken mum says she thinks of her darling girl all the time but wants to help other parents prevent such tragedies from happening.
As hard as it must be to open up about Emma’s death, her mum said she won’t stop until changes are made.
It is understood that up to 50 infant deaths have been linked to the product. Most of the babies were under three months old and died from asphyxia.
Experts believe this was caused by the position they were sleeping in in the sleeper.
She recently took part in a congressional hearing and opened up about the product that claimed her daughter’s life.
Committee on Oversight and Reform discovered that Fisher Price and Mattel had risked millions of lives by continuing to sell the product, despite numerous concerns that were raised.
“Fisher-Price ignored multiple warnings that the Rock ‘n Play was not safe for infant sleep, including reports of infant injuries and deaths. Despite this clear evidence, the company continued to market the Rock ‘n Play for overnight sleep, reaping hundreds of millions in revenue during the 10 years the product was on the market,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
She said that the company put profit before people and was fueled by “corporate greed”.
It is believed up to 4.7 million Rock ‘n Play Sleepers were sold before the company recalled the product in April 2019.
Fisher Price said safety is their main concern, but Richter dismissed their claims.
“If I had known about the dangers of the Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play Sleeper even minutes before Emma was placed in it, I would still have my daughter today.”
“We trusted a named brand and we were wrong,” the grieving mother said.
She added that all she had left of baby Emma were the clothes she wore in the hospital. “Now this is all I have left to remember my daughter. Her outfit from the hospital that still smells like her.”
She said she still thinks of her daughter, who would have been 3 now, every day.
The mother hopes her story will help introduce stricter regulations and a stronger vetting system before products are released to the market. She wants companies to go through rigorous testing and to ask experts about their products before selling them to parents.
Experts have stressed that the best way for young babies to sleep is directly on their backs.
