Saturday, March 13, 2010

Sling Dangers ...

Did you just see the news about the 7 day old baby who was suffocated in a sling? ~tragic~

See, babies don't have the lung power to clear the carbon monoxide from small places. Blankets/materials don't have to be against the baby's face, even small clear spaces are so dangerous. This is why co-sleeping is a danger. You can be so careful to have blankets/pillows away from the babies face, but if the baby doesn't have a CLEAR and BIG opening to clear out the carbon monoxide from their breathing space, tragedy can strike.

So if you use a sling or co-sleep or use blankets or pillows, PLEASE remember they need NOTHING around their sleeping little mouths. Even leaning into mommy to breastfeed while laying down can be dangerous.

Please, please, please be careful with your little ones. Please. This is too tragic and happens more than you'd think.

12 comments:

Lisa said...

You are so right. Awareness is key.

Sara said...

This is so sad. What a tragic loss.

Ali said...

I couldn't use slings with my kids, they freaked me out too much for that exact reason.

Tara said...

I saw this report on slings on the news yesterday. Scary. It is so important to be aware of these sort of things.

Kristin said...

That is why I was always so very careful to keep their faces clear completely.

Kate said...

thanks for posting this. i had heard of the sling report but hadn't seen it yet. scary stuff...

Christina said...

That was the reason why I never could use Annika's carrier. I was afraid she couldn't breathe in it.

Jenn BG said...

Yes. :( My DH has been reading about and gotten himself very pissed at the lack of regulation on them. He did some research and found out that the only safety regulation they had to comply with was that for "straps", meaning the baby would fall out. Ridiculous!! As consumers (me included), just because something says it meets some type of safety regulation, we need to learn what exactly it is. I had one with Jacob and put him in it once. It folded him in 1/2 and freaked me out. I later used it as a hip sling only. Thank goodness for the Moby wrap.

mommybird said...

I've always been afraid of that so I couldn't use a sling before they could sit up in it. So tragic!

Me said...

It is the "bag slings" that are dangerous. A DECENT sling or carrier used CORRECTLY will not pose a danger. The same with co-sleeping, common sense and some safety guidelines can certainly make it safe.

Steph said...

(I totally agree w/Anon! LOL!)

You didn't post a link, so I looked it up. I'm not sure if I found the story you saw, but there are a lot of sling-related deaths! Well, more than I expected. One article did caution not to use them for any baby under 4 months old.

The story that has me totally peeved this wk is this one- http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story/Tragic-Toddler-Mistake/o202FrbZCk-T5Do0YX3OPQ.cspx

I could slap her parents on sooo many levels. All gun safety aside, WHY is a 3yr old playing shooting video games to begin with?

nancy said...

K77, I totally and completely agree. I am not against slings as I used one myself. It was just such a tragic story that I had to mention it. So sad! I just don't think all mothers are aware of such dangers. Our babies are our lives and we have to be diligent to make sure they are safe when we use one or co sleep.