GERBER product CHOKING HAZARD my daughter nearly choked, the

gerber product CHOKING HAZARD peyton nearly choked
GERBER NATRUAL FLEX PACIFIER CHOKING HAZARD!!!!



On Tuesday April 29, 2008, I was laying down with my 6 month old daughter to try and get her down for a nap. She has used the Gerber Natural Flex Pacifiers since she was a new born. They had been a great pacifier for her and I had no complaints until the 29th of April.


What happened with the Natural Flex Pacifier product was a huge concern of mine.


My daughter had managed to get the entire pacifier in her mouth and it was blocking her entire mouth. The pacifier its self was in her mouth the same way a child would have it around the outside of their mouth if they were sucking on the nipple so the whole width of the pacifier was in her mouth. Now I was able to remove the pacifier from my daughters mouth and she was unharmed she did not fully choke on the pacifier but she had started gagging, with my actions I took to remove the pacifier she was left unharmed from this incident.


I took what I felt was appropriate actions to help my daughter by removing the pacifier and I was very distraught over the incident.


My phone call was made in the early afternoon on April 30th and I spoke with a very helpful and sympathetic telephone associate by the name of Cathy, she took my information and report and told me what Gerber could do for me. What she told me was that Gerber would send a packing label for me and means to send back the pacifier(s) to Gerber so they could be evaluated by the Gerber Company. That I would also receive free Gerber coupons and that I would receive a letter explaining what Gerber found after examining the pacifier. I asked her if the product was going to be pulled off the shelf since in fact a choking hazard is a very serious matter especially when it comes infants and small children of the toddler age. She told me that the product would be examined by Gerber and that they would determine if it would be removed from store shelves based on their findings, that such a report was a rare occurrence and that because of that it could not be determined if the product would be pulled. I was very concerned by this. She offered to let me talk to a supervisor of hers and quickly transferred me to a woman by the name of Dian Young.


I spoke with Dian and voiced my concerns that indeed this may be a rare occurrence but it happened and I felt that it needed to be dealt with sooner than after research was done, because the Natural Flex Pacifier indeed posed to be a choking hazard to a child. I explained to her what I had explained to Cathy about the incident and she told me that the Natural Flex Pacifier has air holes on it three around the soft silicone nipple that a baby would be able to breathe on if the child were to get it lodged in his or her mouth, now Dian is correct there is 'air holes' but they certainly are not sufficient enough to provide an adequate amount of air to a child if the child got the pacifier in its mouth, and that because there is air holes it does not mean that the baby still couldn't choke on the product. She told me that the product would not be pulled off the store shelves and that research on the particular products I had would need to be done. I voiced to her my opinion that if another company who made toys or anything had complaints about choking hazards that they would pull the product and recall it for choking hazards and that they could improve them and reissue a safer more improved product, I did not understand why Gerber could not and would not do the same.


At this point I was very distraught, yes my daughter was unharmed from this incident and it concerned me that it happened with her, but after the incident I put up all the Natural Flex pacifiers she had and called her grandmother who also used them and told her not to use them with my child, or my 7 month old nephew that I felt they were unsafe, so that my child and my nephew were not at risk for this incident happening again. A scheduled pick up appointment was made for today May 2, 2008 at 12pm for someone Gerber was sending out to pick up the products and send them back to Gerber, so the products are certainly not available to my daughter or nephew any longer.


My concern is greater than for just my own child, I have concern for other parents and their children. Parents will put their child down for a nap and they'll give them a pacifier and the baby may play for a bit and then fall asleep. They'll give a child a pacifier on a car ride to help the baby be content in their seat and for a ride.


Now what happens when there is a parent who doesn't check on their child soon enough when they put him or her down for a nap and this pacifier was lodged in their child's mouth and they had no idea that there was even a possibility of that happening? What happens when a mother or father, grandparent or friend is driving down the road with a child and they give the child this pacifier and the child gets the pacifier in their mouth and begins to choke?

I truly feel that my concern was not taken seriously, my concern for my daughter and the incident we had with the Natural Flex Pacifier made by Gerber, or my concern for other parents and other children and the fact that this pacifier is a choking hazard.


Now it is true that the Gerber Natural Flex Pacifier has a caution on the back for a choking hazard but no where in that warning does it say that the pacifier can become lodged in child's mouth or anything of that nature. The Caution message on the back of the pacifier states that the pacifier can become a choking hazard if there is a hole or tear in the nipple and can become more of a hazard when a child develops teeth, and if there is a tear or a hole in the nipple to discard the product. There is also a warning on the front of the packaging for this product on the left hand side that states, never to tie a pacifier around a child's neck for strangulation prevention. But no where on the packaging does it say that the child could actually get the pacifier its self in his or her mouth and that it can pose a serious choking hazard.


This product is advertised on the package for all ages, and clearly is not appropriate for all ages if a child can get it in their mouth and potentially choke or even worse, actually choke and become injured or a death occurs.


I am extremely disappointed in the way that I was treated by Gerber, my family uses Gerber everything, clothes, sippy cups, pacifiers, food, juice, snacks, spoons etc you name it we used it, it has for many years been a trusted name in the baby world and in families. For the fact that Gerber is such a trusted household name I was expecting better treatment and a whole lot more concern and more actions taken when a concern like this were to arise with one of their products. I feel I was not taken seriously and that my concern has been over looked, and I feel that it is very important that Gerber let families know that the Gerber Natural Flex Pacifier poses a choking hazard because it can get in the baby's mouth blocking the air way before another child faces this problem, before a child chokes, or worse before there is a death.


I am also concerned that when I was speaking with Dian I asked her to fax me a copy of this report so that I could have it for my records and she told me that she was unable to do so but that I would receive a letter stating the findings by Gerber after they had examined the pacifiers I sent in. I don't see why Gerber would have an issue sending me the report for my records of the report that I filed.


All in all, I strongly believe that the Gerber Natural Flex Pacifier poses a choking hazard for children, that it needs to be pulled off the shelf and consumers need to be aware of this potentially dangerous and potentially deadly hazard. I feel that Gerber should want to take preventative actions to prevent a tragedy involving their products and do not feel that Gerber is taking the appropriate actions, from what I was told by Cathy and Dian Young. I am concerned and disappointed in the treatment I received from Gerber and the fact that it seems my complaint and concern is being over looked by Gerber.




HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD MAMAS LETS GET GERBER TO CARE A LITTLE BIT MORE AND PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR PRODUCTS A LITTLE MORE!!!

Holy Cow! Posting this ONCE was enough!

no need to fill every spot with this, one time and we see it

seriosuly.. sheesh.

I do think you post a bit much, but I get your point. I use the soothies, but I am still going to check when I get home to see if it would be possible for it to get her mouth like that.

don't most pacis have different sizes for diff. ages? Maybe it was too small for her?

Quoting mommylaur:“ don't most pacis have different sizes for diff. ages? Maybe it was too small for her?”

its advertised for all ages.

thank you
 

i know exactly what you mean, Leo very nearly got a similar product by tomee tipee entirely in his mouth when he was about 4 months, it is a very distressing thing to see happen!!!

goodness. How many of these are there?

Everything has a choking hazard and its a damn paci it goes in the mouth. Maybe it happened to your child, but it won't happen to all. You actually make me wanna go by some to give to my daughter just to spite you. Luckily for you though, she only takes soothie pacis and refuses any others.

Quoting Gothic Lolita Mana:“ Everything has a choking hazard and its a damn paci it goes in the mouth. Maybe it happened to your child, ... [snip!] ... by some to give to my daughter just to spite you. Luckily for you though, she only takes soothie pacis and refuses any others.”

XD you are so awesome mana