Baby Slings- Warnings are about to be issued

[Anonymous]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100309/ap_on_bi_ge/us_baby_slings_warning

I am sure this will set of a firestorm.

[Anonymous]

I've been reading about it for so long. I'm impressed that any parent would buy such gadget. I've tried one on and the baby doesn't look comfortable in it at all!!!!

[Anonymous]

I had one of those infantino slings and both my sons HATED it

[Anonymous]

It seems that user error is the issue here. I had and used several slings (not infantino brand, however). My son loved the moby, loved the hotsling (though my back did not!) and now we use a combo of the ergo and sometimes still the moby. (He's 20 lbs now). Slings are not foolproof. You have to be careful that the baby does not cut off his own air supply with his chin, and you have to obviously watch out that you don't tip baby out. When I was getting used to using my sling, I wore it around the house only and obsessively checked on my son to make sure he was breathing and positioned correctly. I also always kept one hand on him at all times, even though slings are meant to give you relative freedom with your hands, that just felt reassuring to me. Even now, I still keep a hand on DS, although I feel he is perfectly safe.

I haven't viewed the stats, but I'd wager there are far more accidental deaths and injuries from cribs than there are slings.

[Anonymous]

Possibly, but pretty much everyone uses a crib compared to a much smaller group of sling users and they use a crib for much longer than a sling. So the injury rate is probably higher with slings.

[Anonymous]

Just like anything, you have user error and a learning curve. This by no means proves that all slings are unsafe.

My baby always preferred the tummy to tummy position over the cradle position anyway. The type of sling illustrated in the article only allows for cradle. Any type of device that holds a baby in a cradle position (sling, infant carseat, swing, Boppy) can have an issue with restricting the airway. Most slings come with instructions that clearly discuss this and how to prevent it.

If you know how to use your sling and do so correctly, your baby will be safe. Just like any other baby product out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been reading about it for so long. I'm impressed that any parent would buy such gadget. I've tried one on and the baby doesn't look comfortable in it at all!!!!

Well, I encourage you to talk to someone who knows how to use a sling to educate you on how they work and to help you find the right one for you. They are not all self-explanatory. When used properly, they are a safe and wonderful tool. Slings in some form or another have existed for hundreds of years, back to the indigenous women who used to wear their babies as they worked all day long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been reading about it for so long. I'm impressed that any parent would buy such gadget. I've tried one on and the baby doesn't look comfortable in it at all!!!!

Well, I encourage you to talk to someone who knows how to use a sling to educate you on how they work and to help you find the right one for you. They are not all self-explanatory. When used properly, they are a safe and wonderful tool. Slings in some form or another have existed for hundreds of years, back to the indigenous women who used to wear their babies as they worked all day long.

I don't think I was clear enough. I'm talking specifically about the sling in the picture in the article.
My grandmother is a native indian and she carried all her 5 children on her back from birth while cutting fire wood.
I "wear" my baby too but always in tummy to tummy position. Never cradle or "C" position.

[Anonymous]

So basically everything Dr. Sears suggests is now warned against by the gvt because of risk of infant death.

[Anonymous]

No theyre only talking about ONE brand of sling. Reading comprehension FTW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically everything Dr. Sears suggests is now warned against by the gvt because of risk of infant death.

Except not. The warning doesn't say "baby wearing = death." It says this sling (or this style of sling), used incorrectly, increases risk of suffocation.

Does anybody own that brand? Sitting as low as it does, it looks very uncomfortable. My back hurts just looking at it.

[Anonymous]

I nearly killed my little girl in one of those things. Not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No theyre only talking about ONE brand of sling. Reading comprehension FTW.

Actually, they're talking about all slings that put the baby in the C position. They only mention that brand as an example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No theyre only talking about ONE brand of sling. Reading comprehension FTW.

Actually, they're talking about all slings that put the baby in the C position. They only mention that brand as an example.
[Report Post]

Yep, they are talking about all slings that put the baby in that position. Reading comprehension poster needs to read the article a little more closely.

[Anonymous]

I don't think I was clear enough. I'm talking specifically about the sling in the picture in the article.
My grandmother is a native indian and she carried all her 5 children on her back from birth while cutting fire wood.
I "wear" my baby too but always in tummy to tummy position. Never cradle or "C" position.

Yup. Same here. I've only ever worn my DD in the tummy to tummy position, and now when she is older either back to tummy or on my hip. My grandmother and many others wore their children on their back when working outdoors in my native country. People have been doing it for ages. The cradle position seems to be a new thing, however, and it never seemed safe to me so I skipped it.