A baby monitor, also known as a baby alarm, is a radio system used to remotely listen to sounds of an infant or child.  The monitor, which is equipped with a microphone, is placed near the child and then transmits the sounds to a receiver unit with a speaker which is placed near the parent or other person caring for the child or infant.  Monitors are used to allow a child’s caregiver to go about their daily activities and still be alerted to the child’s movements and sounds.

Although baby monitors are used to give caregivers peace of mind and a feeling of safety, there are times when a poorly designed product can actually be dangerous for the child they are trying to protect.

Last week,  a baby monitor, the Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitors with Sensor Pads, has been recalled  by the company after the death of two infants due to strangulation.  Angelcare Monitors Inc., is voluntarily recalling 600,000 monitors following the deaths of the two infants.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday that the cord attached to the monitor’s sensor pad is placed under the crib mattress and can become a hazard if the child pulls the cord into the crib.

Two children, a 13-month-old girl from San Diego in November, 2011, and an 8-month-old girl from Salem, Oregon, in August of 2004 , died by strangulation after pulling the cord into their cribs.  Two more children were injured when they became entangled with the cords, as well.

The recalled products were sold between 1999 and 2013 at a number of U.S. retailers.  Consumers are told to stop using the product immediately and contact the company for a repair kit.  The repair kit includes rigid protective cord covers through which the sensor pad cords can be threaded, a permanent warning label and revised instructions.

The CPSC was asked why so many years had lapsed between the recall and the infant’s deaths.  The Director of Communications said in a telephone interview that “the agency acted as quickly as it could.”

According to the CPSC, there have been eight reports of strangulation by baby monitor cords since 2002.