Consumerist
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acceptable risk
Stroller Company Maclaren Knew About Amputation Risk 5 Years Ago
The British company Maclaren knew that its recently recalled strollers could potentially lop off a tot's fingertips over five years ago, reports the New York Post, but it didn't bother to alert the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). More » -
settlements
Target Pays New Jersey $375K To Settle Fraud Charges
Target has agreed to pay New Jersey $375,000 to settle charges that it sold baby formula and non-prescription drugs that had expired, and that it charged higher prices on some products than what was displayed on the shelves. More » -
privacy
Baby Too Boring? Watch The Neighbor's Baby With This Monitor
If you buy the Summer Infant Day and Night Video Monitor, you might want to make sure your neighbors haven't also got one, or else they'll have a secret window into your newborn's room. More » -
babies
Disney Offers Baby Einstein Refunds After Alleged False Advertising
If you've purchased Baby Einstein products, your tot is probably somehow—inexplicably—still not a genius. But you may be eligible for a refund of the purchase price, due to overzealous claims made about the products. More » -
pre-existing conditions
Skinny Toddlers Also Can't Get Insurance?
We guess we should have seen this one coming. After news broke of the uninsurable fat baby last week, MSNBC found a similar case on the other end of the spectrum. A Colorado family with a 22-pound two-year-old says that United HealthCare told them their daughter Aislin is too small to qualify for insurance under their guidelines. More » -
rock-a-stack
Target: No Plans To Remove Bleeding Rock-A-Stacks
Target decided to break its rule about not talking to blogs and responded to our inquiry about the Fisher Price Rock A Stack toys with the blue rings that bleed blue dye on those who encounter it. We asked how many complaints has Target received about this defect? Are there any plans to remove the toy it from the shelves? And If a customer has bought the toy and wishes to return or exchange it, is a receipt required? They responded thusly: More » -
pre-existing conditions
Fat Little Babies Can't Get Insurance?
Up until yesterday, 4-month-old Alex Lange was considered uninsurable by Rocky Mountain Health Plans because he was above the 95th percentile for height and weight for his age—that gave him a pre-existing condition of obesity, and earned him a stamp of rejection. More » -
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medical mistakes
Congratulations, You're Pregnant! ...With The Wrong Baby
Imagine waiting anxiously to hear whether your latest round of in vitro fertilization has resulted in a pregnancy after years of failures. Then you receive a call from your doctor: you are indeed pregnant, but the wrong embryos were transferred. Now you're an unwilling surrogate for another family. More » -
autism
Dateline Weighs In On Autism Vaccination Debate
The raging debate on whether the MMR vaccine causes autism in children comes down to this — nearly the entire medical community is on one side, while controversial British doctor Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy are on the other. More » -
health care
Giving Birth And Covered By Health Insurance? $22,000, Please
The individual health insurance market can be a scary place for Americans who turn to it for health coverage. If they're accepted to a plan at all, patients often find that their coverage isn't quite what they were promised, and limits and restrictions lead to high medical bills for covered services that aren't really covered.
That's how Sarah Wildman ended up with a $22,000 bill from the hospital where her daughter was born, despite having what she thought was good health insurance with a maternity rider. More »
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breastfeeding
IKEA Sends Mother And Infant To Bathroom To Breastfeed
The IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn is the latest retail establishment that needs reminding: Yes, women have the right to breastfeed their infants in public. No, you cannot banish them to the restroom. Yes, people will get angry when word gets out. More » -
Slate compares and ranks 5 sippy cups for toddlers. The best, they say, is the Nalgene Grip-n-Gulp Bottle—at about $8 it's also the second cheapest of the lot. [Slate]
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hazardous clothing
Motherwear Pajamas Almost Choke Newborn: Customer Complains, Company Couldn't Care Less
Consumerist reader Rebecca recently had an unsettling experience with a pair of maternity pajamas she bought from Motherwear: a ribbon at the front detached and ended up lodged in her newborn's mouth as he was nursing. Rebecca was able to retrieve the ribbon and her son was thankfully unharmed. Rebecca wrote to Motherwear to let them know about the potential choking hazard that these pajamas present. But the apathetic responses she received from Motherwear customer service are sadly lacking, given that we're talking about the possibility of infant death. More » -
price fixing
Babies R Us Accused Of Price Fixing
If you feel like had to pay too much for baby supplies this past decade, look to Babies R Us. Time reports that last week, "the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia granted class-action status to a complaint that Babies 'R' Us coerced manufacturers of high-end strollers, car seats, high chairs, strap carriers and breast pumps into preventing Internet retailers from discounting their products." More » -
You mean I don't need a $900 stroller? Perhaps this is a sign that perhaps the recession is dragging everyone back to something approaching reality. Even affluent American parents are buying secondhand items or using hand-me-downs for their children. [New York Times]
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above and beyond
Cotton Babies Stands Behind The Cloth Diapers They Sell
It's great to find a company that stands behind the products that they sell—even beyond the stated warranty is over, and even after the products have been used for their intended purpose for an extended period. Rachel learned that online diaper retailer Cottonbabies.com is one of those companies, and wanted to share her experience with Consumerist readers. More » -
More than one million play yards made by Kolcraft and sold under a variety of names have been recalled. Brands include Kolcraft, Carter's, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bears and Eric Carle. There's a problem with the side rail, and children can fall out. Check to see if yours is affected at the CPSC.
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babies
New York, 3:32 AM
Mon Nov 16
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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