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.

Rebecca wrote:

Last summer, I bought a pair of pajamas from you. They adjust at the front with two ribbons.

With the warm weather here, I just pulled out those pajamas for the first time in several months. I was nursing my 9-month-old in bed, and he stopped nursing (which he often does at this age—stops and starts). But for some reason, he wouldn’t start again—he seemed to have something in his mouth, and he seemed unhappy about it.

I popped his mouth open and was shocked to see that one of the two ribbons was detached from the pajamas and inside his mouth completely.

I wanted to let you know about this, in case you want to warn other customers, as it’s clearly hazardous. If I had nodded off next to him in bed, thinking he was actually done nursing, I’m not sure what could have happened with that length of ribbon in his mouth.

Motherwear’s response?

Thank you for contacting Motherwear. We’re sorry you had a problem with these pajamas. We are happy that your child was not harmed by the ribbon. We will pass your email to our merchandising department as well as the company CEO. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
Motherwear
1-800-950-2500

Unconvinced, Rebecca wrote back again, this time a little more firmly, but again received a stock, three-line response.

Does anyone have the info Rebecca needs to fire off an EECB?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.