A Maine infant’s nearly month-long hospitalization is cited in a new, national recall. Video above: Iowa mom warns of ‘water beads’ after her baby is hospitalizedIn November of last year, a mother contacted sister station WMTW to raise safety concerns with water beads after her one-year-old was hospitalized. Folichia Mitchell says her daughter Kennedy needed multiple surgeries after a bead, which grew in her body, blocked her small intestines and caused both sepsis and an infection.“That will forever stick with me and stained my heart in a lot of ways,” Mitchell said Thursday. Mitchell said the child accidentally swallowed one of the Ultimate Water Beads made by Chuckle and Roar, purchased for an older sibling, sold exclusively at Target. “It definitely changes you to see your child like that,” Mitchell said. The child has some lingering digestion issues and is making up for lost time with motor skill development. “Just being laid down for a month and sleeping for a couple of weeks, sedated. She was behind with walking and crawling. When she got out of the hospital, she couldn’t even sit up to support herself,” she said. In a recent national investigation, Consumer Reports cited data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which estimated 4,500 emergency room visits over a four-year period. In a news release calling attention to the story, consumer reports issued a range of recommendations for consumers, sellers and the CPSC. They said the agency should “move as quickly as possible to finalize a ban or strong limits on water beads.”A spokesperson for Target said Thursday they removed Ultimate Water Beads from shelves in November but would not say whether they plan to stop selling all water beads. Chuckle and Roar did not respond to a request for comment.
A Maine infant’s nearly month-long hospitalization is cited in a new, national recall.
Video above: Iowa mom warns of ‘water beads’ after her baby is hospitalized
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In November of last year, a mother contacted sister station WMTW to raise safety concerns with water beads after her one-year-old was hospitalized.
Folichia Mitchell says her daughter Kennedy needed multiple surgeries after a bead, which grew in her body, blocked her small intestines and caused both sepsis and an infection.
“That will forever stick with me and stained my heart in a lot of ways,” Mitchell said Thursday.
Mitchell said the child accidentally swallowed one of the Ultimate Water Beads made by Chuckle and Roar, purchased for an older sibling, sold exclusively at Target.
“It definitely changes you to see your child like that,” Mitchell said.
The child has some lingering digestion issues and is making up for lost time with motor skill development.
“Just being laid down for a month and sleeping for a couple of weeks, sedated. She was behind with walking and crawling. When she got out of the hospital, she couldn’t even sit up to support herself,” she said.
In a recent national investigation, Consumer Reports cited data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which estimated 4,500 emergency room visits over a four-year period.
In a news release calling attention to the story, consumer reports issued a range of recommendations for consumers, sellers and the CPSC.
They said the agency should “move as quickly as possible to finalize a ban or strong limits on water beads.”
A spokesperson for Target said Thursday they removed Ultimate Water Beads from shelves in November but would not say whether they plan to stop selling all water beads.
Chuckle and Roar did not respond to a request for comment.
