Baby Slings — Should You Use a Baby Sling?
Coming on the heels of the recent huge baby crib recall, the government has issued a warning about baby slings. Baby slings are those devices that you strap on yourself to hold your baby against your body while you go about your business. Most of the articles that you read talk about the baby slings that are used “nowadays.” But baby slings are hardly a new invention and they’re certainly not a recent US trend. Native Americans carried their children with slings as did many other ancient cultures. The whole idea of cradling a baby against your body while you use your hands for other things is hardly new.
But now the Consumer Product Safety Commission has investigated 13 deaths that are apparently associated with the use of one of the sling style baby carriers. These 13 deaths were spread over 20 years but three happened in the last year.
If you’re about ready to throw away your baby sling and never use it again, take heart. Fully 12 of the 13 deaths involved infants that were less than four months old. The CPSC does point out that some of the babies who died in these babies slings were preemies and had colds. One was a low birth weight twin. All the babies apparently suffocated.
They warn that when you use a baby sling be aware that the fabric can cover the baby’s mouth and nose and suffocated baby quite quickly. The other hazard appears to be when the baby but is cradled in a position that shaped like a “C.” Small infants who don’t have good neck control can be forced to droop their head forward in that position and it can interfere with their breathing. The baby can’t cry in that situation and the person carrying the baby may not even be aware there’s a problem until it’s too late.
Common sense and reasonable caution seemed to be the best preventative. Making sure that your baby is comfortable and not in a bad position and making sure that the baby’s mouth and nose aren’t covered by fabric or pressed against your body would seem to be the best way to keep your baby safe in a baby sling. Limiting the use or not using them at all with very small infants, infants with colds, premature infants are low birth weight infants is advised.
If you use a baby sling make sure it’s one that holds the baby upright and flat against your body and avoids allowing the baby to curve or slump. Simply make sure the baby’s chin doesn’t touch his chest and its head is held up so that it can clearly breathe without its face being pressed against you or the sling. If you intend to continue using one, then simply take a little bit of care with your child when using it not only to make sure that the baby can breathe properly but that he or she is secured in the sling (some babies have been injured by falling out of them).
One sling in particular has come under fire, the SlingRider by Infantino. Apparently, the sling allows the baby to slip into a curved position that he suspected of causing suffocation. One of the infant deaths occurred in one of the slings and the parents have filed suit. The company maintains that its baby sling is safe.
Of course, if you’re in doubt about how to use a baby sling properly or safely and it worries you then simply don’t use one.
Photo: frielp
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Baby Crib Recall
If you’re using a baby crib with a drop side that was manufactured by Storkcraft and carries that or the Fisher Price logo, you need to carefully look at the baby crib. A record-breaking recall is going on right now because of infant deaths in these drop-side cribs. Over 2 million of this type of baby crib are being recalled because they’re not a safe crib.
To date there have been reports of 15 children becoming trapped between the drop-side and the crib mattress, and tragically 4 of those entrapments resulted in death by suffocation. Some cribs of this type have metal rods and fittings, but the baby crib recall is for the models with plastic parts that operate the drop-side of the baby crib. It’s only these cribs that are invovled in the recall, but you should be aware that drop side cribs can pose dangers because of broken, missing or worn parts that operate the side, no matter what make or model they are.
The baby crib model in the current recall is plagued by broken or worn pieces that let the crib side come lose or drop too far. In addition to the crib entrapments, there are have been at least 20 reports of children falling completely out of the crib, resulting in injuries ranging from bumps and bruises to concussion.
Drop side cribs have been recalled in large numbers over the last 2 years. Over 5 million of this type of crib have been recalled as being unsafe. A safe baby crib has fewer moving parts and pieces and less opportunity for those pieces to wear out and break. The 5 million recalled since 2007 don’t include the 2.1 million baby crib models that Storkcraft have produced that are being recalled.
I owned a drop-side crib, having no idea that it could be dangerous. The drop side baby crib design is certainly convenient, but apparently has some hazards that many parents (including me) were unaware of, especially the one-handed “trigger” model drop side baby crib. The plastic pieces break and wear too easily, allowing for the side to leave a large gap between the mattress and the crib. There have also been cases of the drop-side being installed upside down, which leaves a large gap at the bottom.
The board that sets industry standards voted just last week to stop certifying all drop side baby crib models to be sold in the US. But a date has not been set to put this new safety standard into effect.
The 4 tragic deaths in these cribs were a child 6 months old, 2 7-month olds and a 9-month old. Apparently the side leaves such a gap that it’s easy for a moving infant to push it out and away from the bed, fall into the gap, become trapped and suffocate. If you’re using one of these recalled cribs, stop using it immediately.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists the following as causes of the unsafe baby crib model: plastic hardware that’s missing claws, broken or formed incorrectly; broken, malformed or worn tracks; broken, malformed or worn tab stops (that keep the side from dropping too far) and broken, poorly formed and worn connecting pieces. In some cases these pieces were missing as were the metal spring clips. Stripped screws pose a problem. And sides installed upside down, which happened in some of the reported cases, are highly dangerous.
Baby cribs come with assembly required, and the instructions need to make sure that the cribs are assembled properly. In the case of drop-side cribs, that they can even be installed upside is a concern. And all the extra parts, screws, small pieces and bits of hardware required for this type of crib make installation more different and less likely to be done correctly. Pieces can go missing and be installed improperly, causing problems.
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Baby Crib Nostalgia
Has your mother saved your baby crib for all these years so that you can use the same crib she did? That’s a sweet sentiment, and very touching. And if you really want to you, you should go ahead and use the crib. You will probably want to invest in a baby crib mattress, because those don’t wear as well as the furniture. Aside from that, check a few things out first.
Do make sure none of the baby crib hardware is sticking out, like screw points or metal edges, for your baby’s safety. And it should go without saying that if there is chipped or peeling paint, you’ll want to sand that away and fix it, maybe refinish the crib.
Do make sure that the baby crib parts are all in working order and that there’s no rust, splits, cracks or splintering of the wood, for safety’s sake. And make sure that the paint on the crib wasn’t lead paint. If you have any doubt, then it’s best to remove it all and refinish. When some of us were kids it was long enough ago that the risk wasn’t really known. Now the dangers are talked about often, so do check into that.
Also, depending on the age of the crib, just make sure that aren’t parts that could pinch a baby’s fingers or other parts, and make sure the bars or slats are close enough together than a baby’s head can’t fit between them.
Give it a try, too. Lift the side up and down. Try it one handed. Is it easy, or do you have to jerk the whole thing? Does it slam into place or is it quiet? Modern baby cribs are a little better in this regard. You want to make sure you can actually get your baby into it while asleep without making too much noise or jarring the whole crib.
If all’s in order, there are some good reasons to use a hand-me-down crib.
- You don’t have to buy a new crib, so you save money. And it’s no secret that you need LOTS of money when you have a new baby!
- You make your mother or whomever is handing the crib down very, very happy.
- It’s a sweet reminder of your childhood.
- You spent time in that crib, and you turned out okay, by gosh!
It really doesn’t matter how old or outdated the crib might be, because you can always buy a new baby crib set to bring it into the modern age. Baby crib sets come in so many styles and colors, that now that you’ve saved on having to buy the piece of furniture, you can have a couple different sets of baby bedding to choose from. Sheets, a bumper, a baby blanket–those things are what really make the look of it, anyway.
Photo: jessicafm
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