Federal regulators are preparing to issue a warning to parents about potential baby sling problems after receiving reports that at least seven babies have suffocated in the harness-like devices.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said on Tuesday that the agency would issue a warning on the safety of all baby slings sometime later this week.
“We know of too many deaths in these slings and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies,” Tenenbaum said. “So, the time has come to alert parents and caregivers.”
The seven infant baby sling suffocation deaths have occurred over the last 11 years, and there have been other deaths of infants in slings that have been classified as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which generally refers to unexplained infant deaths. This year, according to Consumer Reports, at least two infants have suffocated in baby slings manufactured by Infantino of San Diego, California.
The Infantino baby sling deaths include 6-day-old Derrick Fowler of Oregon, who suffocated against his mother while she was shopping, and a 7-week-old boy from Philadelphia who also suffocated while in the sling being held by his mother. In both cases, the mothers were unaware that their infants were in trouble until they looked into the sling to check on them.
Consumer Reports placed the baby slings on its list of products parents should not buy for their babies in April 2009, saying that the bag-like shape of the slings can lead to the infant’s smothering without the mother being aware of it. At that time, there were only four suffocation deaths known to be connected to the use of the slings.
In 2007, CPSC announced an Infantino SlingRider baby sling recall due to the risk of the straps breaking. The recall was issued after the company received eight reports of children falling out of the slings. One of the infants suffered a fractured skull. Chairman Tenenbaum did not say that the upcoming baby sling warning would specify any one baby sling product.