The baby business is proving to be a growing business for Newell Rubbermaid, which announced this week that it will acquire Aprica, a Japanese maker of car seats and strollers, to expand in Asia.

To drive that global growth, Newell is drawing on consumer research to drive product production. Its leading baby products division, Graco, called on a child development specialist to help make a product that allows parents to soothe their newborns without holding them.

The result was Sweetpeace, a swing (pictured) equipped with features that seek to replicate scents and sounds infants experience in the womb.

The swing has various recline and seating positions to make a baby feel comfortable, and is equipped to play nature sounds such as ocean waves. It has an MP3 plug-in connection so that parents can play their own music.

“The product was intentionally designed to try to recreate some soothing motions moms make when they are trying to calm their infant,” said Jennifer Rosinia, the consultant who helped develop it.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 300 companies that make or import infant products, says the U.S. market for child products is valued at about $8.9 billion, up from $6 billion in 2000. The group says industry growth is being fueled by rising numbers of older and more affluent parents, increased spending by grandparents and a boost in the ranks of stay-at-home moms.

At about $169, Sweetpeace is positioned at the higher end of the swing market but Graco says sales have gone beyond expectations since it became available last month.

“It’s the first of many more products to come,” said Lindsay Lebresco of Graco.

Photo: Graco