RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a massive crib recall involving more than 2 million units that have been sold at popular retail stores and online sites over the course of the last 16 years. Some of the cribs involved bear the Fisher-Price logo.

THE DETAILS: On Monday, officials announced a voluntary recall affecting 1,213,000 cribs sold in the United States and nearly 970,000 sold in Canada between January 1993 and October 2009. The recall came after the CPSC, Health Canada, and crib manufacturer Stork Craft received 15 reports of crib entrapment, including four that resulted in suffocation. Falls from the cribs were also reported, resulting in injuries ranging from concussions to more minor bumps and bruises. The problem with the cribs involves the cribs' drop-side plastic hardware, which can break, deform, or lose parts. This could cause the drop-side, which makes it easier for parents to place babies in the crib or take them out of it, to detach in one or more corners. This creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress, potentially causing entrapment or suffocation. A complete detachment of the side could result in babies falling out of the crib.

The recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price Logo. It does not include cribs that do not have a drop-side component, or cribs with metal-rod drop-side hardware. The models being recalled are all drop-side Stork Craft cribs with plastic hardware and manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009, including ones manufactured with the Fisher-Price logo between October 1997 and December 2004. Note that some of the affected cribs have a Fisher-Price logo, the rest are labeled Stork Craft. Both are made by Stork Craft, but some are marketed as Fisher-Price.

To find manufacture date, model number, or crib name, look at the information located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. For Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo, look on the crib's teething rail, in the manufacturer's instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models, the CPSC says.

These cribs have been sold at major retailers, including BJ's Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart, as well as online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com, with prices ranging from $100 to $400.

WHAT IT MEANS: The recall reaches back more than 15 years, so children of some parents who bought one of the now-recalled cribs are now teenagers. But many parents are still using these cribs for young children at risk, so it's important to check the manufacturing dates to find out if you need to take action. If you bought an older crib at a yard sale, you should check to make sure it's not included in the massive crib recall.

The CPSC says if your crib has been recalled, you should not use it, but rather find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for your baby. Contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side to a fixed side. You can call the company at (877) 274-0277 or contact it online at StorkCraft.com.