Safety standards issued for baby swings

(WPRI) -- New standards have been put in place to improve the safety of infant swings in order to prevent injuries and deaths.

In only one year, 349 babies were injured from their infant swings, and two actually died from their injuries. Now, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is adding some mandatory safety guidelines for companies to follow.

As parents, we do whatever we can to keep our children safe. But for years, millions of infant swings have been recalled after babies have been severely injured or killed due to strangulation.

Seven million of Graco's swings were recalled 12 years ago after six deaths were reported. The CPSC says these occurred when parts were missing or the restraints were not used, and infants slid down the swing's seat and became entangled.

Just this week, the CPSC approved new federal safety standards to keep your baby safe. One of the provisions includes more explicit labels to prevent slump-over deaths. The warning advises parents with infants who have yet to sit up on their own to recline the seat all the way back.

Other provisions include a stability test that prevents the swing from tipping over, a test to prevent unintentional folding, tests on restraint systems, and toy mobiles to be designed to ensure they can't detach when pulled.

The effective date for the mandatory infant swing standards is May 2013.

For more information about the new provisions, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website.