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SALT LAKE CITY — An Intermountain Health worker possibly saved a newborn's life after noticing a Utah mom was using a "fake car seat" just before she was about to leave the hospital.
In June, Jillian Davis was ready to bring home her newborn baby in a car seat that her family had gifted her.
"It was a car seat, a stroller, and a bassinet all in one from her grandpa," Davis said.
However, just before placing her child in the seat, the chair failed the hospital check.
"The first thing I was looking for was making it fit her baby. I was looking for the minimum weight sticker, but there's not one on here," said car seat technician Ruth Vayo.
Vayo said she is seeing an increasing number of counterfeit car seats in parents' cars. It's something that most parents wouldn't even consider happening.
"To take advantage of families is just really terrible and heart-wrenching because they've gone through a lot, and everyone wants their baby to be safe in the car," Vayo said.
Vayo explained that Davis' seat was super light, had no chest clip, and several manufacture stickers were missing.
"You're supposed to have a manufacturer name, a phone number to be able to call with questions, a way to register your car seat," Vayo said.
She also couldn't adjust the car seat's harness, and the warning message had a spelling error.
After finding out she almost put her child at risk, Davis said she was distraught and thought about what could have happened to her newborn.
"My first thought was, 'How have I never heard of this? And what did I miss?' because I have three other kids," Davis said. "I wanted to cry. We had been there for two weeks, and we were finally ready to go home; this was the last test."
Davis said that her newborn's grandpa purchased the car seat through a third-party vendor on a big box store's website.
"They don't take responsibility for the third party, so it was kind of on us. We still have been out of the money," she said.
The car seat cost them $350, which seems like a discount, but experts say lower prices are a red flag.
"I'm such an online shopper, and I feel like most parents are," Davis said. "The convenience of it has made it more convenient for people like this to go online and sell things that aren't legit."
Davis hopes other parents can learn from her mistake and to check every strap, sticker, and clasp so their baby can get home safely.
"If car seats aren't actually getting properly checked, parents don't know," she said.
Intermountain Health offers free in-person or virtual car seat check inspections through its website, or you can call 801-662-CARS. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website can also help you find a car seat technician near you.
