investigation into slings?

[SammyRo]

My mum just sent me a text about a news report she saw that said there was to be an investigation into slings because 14 babies have died from suffocation. Has anyone heard anything about this? I did a quick google and the only article i could find said it was in the US but didn't say what type of slings. Apparently, the deaths were in the last 2 decades but I think it said 3 last year.

Anyone heard anything about it?

[shellbell3]

I saw mini something in the name. It had to do with them being suffocated. I only saw snippet so dont know the whole story.

[Early Kids]

I've been trying to get the story too. From what I've read the babies faces were covered (obviously) and most people wouldn't do that... it's all common sense really.

[shellbell3]

I did find this on consumer reports website:

Baby deaths raise concerns about Infantino slings
On May 7th of this year, 6-day-old Derrik Fowler (at right) of Oregon died in an Infantino baby sling. His mother was carrying Derrik while she shopped, but when she went to remove her son from the sling, he had stopped breathing and turned blue. His father started CPR while his mother called 911. Derrik could not be revived. The manner of death was reported as accidental compression asphyxia/suffocation.

Derrik's wasn’t the first infant death in an Infantino sling this year. Three months earlier, a 7-week-old Philadelphia boy suffocated while being carried by his mother. She discovered that the child wasn’t breathing when she opened the sling to show him to a friend.

We know of at least seven babies who have suffocated in baby slings over the past 11 years. The cause of other deaths in slings were undetermined or may have been misclassified as SIDS. Additionally, we have reports of 37 infants who have been seriously injured in incidents with slings over the same time period. Those injuries include skull fractures, broken bones, and serious bruises.

We have warned readers about baby slings before and put them on our list of products not to buy for your baby. The response: Strong criticism from advocates who believe that baby wearing is the healthiest way to transport a baby and builds mother-baby bonding. But the growing number of fatalities and injuries associated with slings makes us even more resolute in our position on this product. We’re in no way opposed to baby wearing, but there are soft, wearable infant carriers that we believe are safer to use than slings.

Participants at last week’s ASTM-International meeting on sling carriers discussed the design of the Infantino “bag-style” sling and how it could contribute to suffocation and obstructed airways. That can happen for two reasons—either the baby’s face turns inward and becomes covered by the mother’s clothing or breasts, or the baby is placed in a position where the infant's head falls so far forward that the airway is closed off.

The ASTM sling committee is not alone in its concern about the Infantino design. Customer reviews on Amazon.com include a slew of comments about potential suffocation risks.

The Infantino Slingrider (at right) has been recalled in the past for breaking shoulder strap adjusters; it has not been recalled for suffocation hazards. We are writing to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to suggest another recall on this product before more children die.

The label in the Infantino sling and on its box says that it “Meets or exceeds ASTM F2236.” That’s the voluntary safety standard on soft infant carriers, but that standard specifically excludes slings. There is no current ASTM safety standard for slings, so such labeling is very misleading. The warnings and instructions on the label also apply to regular infant carriers, and are inappropriate for slings. We fear that those instructions could be misinterpreted and that a baby could be at risk as a result. Our calls to Infantino about its labeling have not been returned.

Our Take: There may be safe slings on the market, but until ASTM adopts a safety standard that addresses the injuries and fatalities we’ve seen with these products, we’ll stand firm with our advice.—Don Mays

[shellbell3]

And this on recent news website:

Baby slings, which are used to increase the physical proximity between the parent and the child, can pose a threat to the baby’s life reports the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The US Consumer Product Safety has issued warnings, especially to the parents bearing children below the age of 4 months. It has been confirmed that the use of baby slings leads to death due to suffocation among the children. The young babies have neck muscles which are weak and fragile and cannot support the head properly and the fabric used in the sling can cause pressure to the nose and mouth leading to suffocation and ultimately to death. The slings, which are made to put the baby in the curled position like the alphabet “C”, push the baby’s chin towards their chest, restricting the airways of the child.

The move to insure a legal safety standard for the baby slings are being pressed harder now due to the unfortunate reported death of 13 babies in the past.

The CPSC recommends that to ensure your baby is safe in slings, do not forget to uncover the baby’s face, it should be visible all the time, change the position of the baby after feeding in the sling, do frequent checks on the baby and if the baby is not healthy enough, then take recommendations from the doctor for the use of sling.

[Early Kids]

Basically make sure bub is sitting in it properly and be aware of bub in there. I am always checking Tristan.

I think that if you are using the sling correctly there is no issue. I dont like the carrier and neither does Tristan. Tristan's physio told me not to use is either, because it's not good for his hips.

[Schmickers]

We used the sling a lot with DD#3, but I can't imagine not being aware of her breathing - even in the sling, I could feel her wriggling, and almost always had a hand on her to feel her breathing.

I think it comes down to common sense. And to be honest, I would be very surprised if the 13 deaths claimed by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission were really attributed to the slings. 13 baby deaths from one category of products would garner a lot more publicity than this...

[Shades]

I remember reading somewhere about this before - it's a specific style of sling (like a sports bag) that is usually involved in these stories - the infantino sling rider is one of those styles...
I think if people are buying things like this in the shops they are assuming they are safe to use so they trust and don't check as much... maybe with slings made by WAHMs and bought at markets and home-made etc, people are more careful about thinking for themselves and re-thinking if baby looks too squished, instead of just having faith that 'that's how this one is supposed to work so it must be fine'...?

[suse]

This thread discusses the recent news articles in more detail.

HTH!

ETA: and yes, the concerns do relate to a particular type of sling, known as the bag sling, when used to carry newborns in a cradle carry. The infantino sling rider is the best known example of it. Unlike more readily adjustable carriers with shallower pouches, these types of slings are not conducive to correct positioning to avoid positional asphyxia even with good awareness, and are rarely suitable for newborns. However, whilst any carrier can be dangerous without proper parental understanding of newborn positioning, a carrier designed with that understanding is highly unlikely to cause problems. The problem with bag slings is that there is little one can do to avoid a non-optimal position because of their inherent design.

[suse]

The Infantino Slingrider has just been withdrawn from sale in the US

More details here.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

It was 13 deaths in 20 YEARS!. If you think about how popular slings are (even assuming this statistic is limited to the U.S.) I'd say that would make slings and carriers quite safe! Not all the deaths were suffocation, some of them were from babies falling out of slings (I have no concept of how this could even occur to be honest) and some aparently because the bubs chins were resting on their chests and restricting their breathing. Most if not all of the babies who died were premmie or had breathing difficulties.

[suse]

Nee - what you are saying is correct in essence, but it's important to distinguish that these deaths were predominately due to positional asphyxia, and all specifically related to the same type of carrier - what is commonly known as the bag sling.

My post in the other thread gives more information on how to position a newborn safely and why the bag sling type is particularly dangerous because its inherent design makes bad positioning and airflow difficult to avoid.

Babywearing groups have been campaigning for bag slings to be removed from the market for a long time now, so this decision has been met with great approval. Hopefully this will be the starting point for more widespread education on babywearing safety rather than a witch-hunt on wearing in general.

To reiterate though - all carriers should be used with an awareness of safe positioning, but most are not inherently dangerous (unlike the bag sling) and their design does promote correct posture.

Another thing worth mentioning is that provided that it is done with awareness of good positioning, kangaroo care has been shown to be beneficial for premmies and newborns and should not be avoided. It would be very disappointing if misplaced concern over the safety of carriers in general caused some parents to shy away from what is a wonderful way of interacting with their infants.

[Product Safety - ACCC]

Hi, I'm from the product safety part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). We're investigating the safety of infant slings, particularly the possible suffocation risk to babies. You might have noticed that there has been a recall of an infant sling here: the Infantino Sling Rider. More information on this recall is on the recalls website.

There is also more information on infant sling safety on the ACCC's website at Infant Slings