RECALL: KidCo PeaPod Travel Beds and PeaPod Plus Travel Beds

Health Canada has just reported the recall of KidCo Inc.'s Pea Pod Travel Bed and PeaPod Plus Travel Bed. The recall was issued after an infant death in December 2011 (the cause of death remains "undetermined"), several reports of entrapment and suffocation both in Canada and the US (with no injuries), and confirmation that an infant can get caught between the travel bed's mattress and the tent's sides.

KidCo has created a kit as a result of this issue, which includes supports to bolster the sides of the tent, as well as a thinner mattress and a new instruction manual with clear advisories, i.e., not to use the tent for children under one year of age.

Via Associated Press:
"We believe that having the inflatable mattress much smaller reduces the chances of entrapment between the mattress and the fabric side of the tent," says the chairperson of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez Tenenbaum (via AP). "We want to make sure the suffocation risk is removed."

Still, some groups in the US are recommending full refunds instead of the kit. "This was a product intended for a baby to sleep in," says Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger (via AP). "But parents don't realize that because it's not a crib or a bassinette or a play yard, there's no standard, it's not tested to be safe for sleeping."

If you have this product
Immediately discontinue use of this product, and contact KidCo toll-free at (855) 847-8600, or visit the www.kidco.com to obtain your kit. Kits vary depending on the tent model. Health Canada does not recommend the Peapod for children under one year of age.