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Originally Posted by AllyRae  13 deaths over a period of *20 YEARS*?! There have been more deaths than that from cribs and the like. It seems like a bit of an overreaction.
I wish they made a distinction--the slings that caused the deaths last year were the bag-type slings you can buy at TRU. And most parents would know not to let their babies be all curled up so they suffocate. Used *properly*, most slings that aren't the bag-type slings (like infantino) are still safe. I wish the government wouldn't over-react to stuff like this. People not using a product in a safe way does not make the product an unsafe product, you know? Slings have been around in some form for hundreds of years without problems....
Yeah, this whole thing irks me. You would never put the baby in a position where her chin was compressed against her chest or fabric was over the face. Not in a sling, not in a carseat, not in a stroller, not in a crib. Just because 13 babies (out of what...tens of thousands who have been carried in slings over the past 20 years), many of whom had pre-existing conditions where breathing would be an issue anyhow, passed away (tragically), does not mean the product is not safe.
Hell, more babies die every year as a result of medical mismanagement of labor, but you don't see huge government warnings on pitocin and epidurals. Use the product right and it's not a big deal. :mad:
/rant.
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I totally disagree ... not an overreaction. First of all, if 13 deaths were reported, there were likely many, many more that were not reported. That's how these things always go. Second of all, it's not like the gov't banning slings or anything like that. They're just reminding people of the dangers of not using them properly. In my opinion, that's totally appropriate and IMPORTANT. I think the fact that these slings are so widely used gives us a false sense of security. Maybe YOU'D never put your baby with their chin on its chest or face covered, but MANY MANY mothers do exactly that. I see it all the time. And with certain slings especially, they're almost designed so the babies are positioned in that way.
I know when I was carrying my newborn in the moby in the cradle hold, I was always so paranoid about his breathing, but at the same time, I was constantly telling myself, "well, if this was truly unsafe, they would ban these or issue a warning or something. I would KNOW it was unsafe." Turns out my paranoia was justified and I should not have been so trusting in the product. It's good to know that these risks are there so we can take proper precautions and make decisions accordingly.
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