CONSUMER BRIEFING / RECALLS

The deaths of two more infants trapped in Simplicity bassinets has prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to reissue its August 2008 recall of the beds.

The recall was first announced after the deaths of two other children. The recall includes more than 900,000 bassinets sold as far back as 2001 and as recently as last year.

The hazard in the Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets stems from metal bars spaced farther apart than federal standards allow, the commission said. If Velcro-attached fabric that covers metal bars on the bassinet isn’t attached properly, a pocket can be created where children can become trapped. Children also can become stuck between the bassinet’s metal bars, the agency said.

In the latest incidents, a 6-month-old girl in Fort Worth died in January after she was trapped between two exposed bars on the bassinet; a 2-month-old girl in Demorest, Ga., suffocated in September when she was caught in a pocket of fabric.

The bassinets were manufactured before May 18, 2008, and include some sold under the Graco brand and others with Winnie the Pooh characters printed on the bed’s fabric. The beds’ model numbers can be found at www.cpsc.gov and www.gracobaby.com.

Owners of the recalled bassinets can return the beds to the stores where they bought them, the commission said.