Consumer Protection Committee Announces Baby Sling Recall
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By Rachel Stockton
To mothers committed to “baby-wearing”, infant slings have proven to be a wonderful addition to their nursery ensembles, allowing them to hold their infants close to the breast while going about their daily tasks.
However, not all slings are created equally when it comes to design; the United States Consumer Protection Commission has announced that Infantino has recalled more than one million baby slings that have been available in Target and Wal-Mart stores throughout the country. Three infants have suffocated while being held in these slings in such diverse regions as Cincinnati, Oregon, and Philadelphia.
The Commission has advised parents not to use the slings for infants under 4 months of age; babies this age do not have strong neck muscles, so the design of the sling must accommodate a baby’s inability to turn his head if he is not getting sufficient oxygen.
Additionally, if an infant is curled up in the sling, his chin can be pushed up against his chest, slowly suffocating him while his mother remains unaware of his distress (WebMd).
Of course, by far the safest way to accomplish this is to hold the baby directly in your arms; however, when that proves to be impossible, it’s important to put him or her into a sling that holds the baby upright against the mother’s chest.
For years, infancy experts such as Penelope Leach have extolled the virtues of providing babies close, bodily contact with their mothers. In times past, it was not unusual for mothers to have thei r babies next to them as they carried on with their routines. Such contact, according to the experts, eases the baby’s transition from the warmth and comfort of the womb to “life on the outside.”
Holding a baby next to her chest allows an infant to, once again, feel and hear the security of her heartbeat; something that baby has grown quite accustomed to over the course of 9 months.
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