Sling recalled after claims link it to baby deaths
US company Infantino recalled the SlingRider, saying customers should stop using the product immediately and return it for a free replacement.
An Infantino spokesman said 10,000 of the recalled slings had been sold to the British market, although an unknown number could still be in stores.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said babies could suffocate in the fabric slings.
Infantino said last night that it was working with the CPSC and Trading Standards in Britain in an ongoing investigation of the baby carriers. A statement said: “Our top priority is the safety of infants whose parents and caregivers use our products, and we highly value the trust that mothers and families place in the company’s products every day. Infantino is announcing a voluntary replacement programme for the Infantino SlingRider infant baby carriers to address concerns raised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This action is being taken in the US and Canada, and also Britain and other European countries.”
Earlier this month the CPSC issued a warning about sling-style baby carriers, saying they posed a potential suffocation risk to infants, especially babies under four months. Babies who had a low birth weight, were born prematurely, or had breathing problems such as colds were also at risk.
At the time, the commission did not single out a specific type of sling or manufacturer. It said it had identified or was investigating at least 14 deaths in the last 20 years associated with baby slings.
The CPSC said yesterday three of the deaths occurred last year and were linked to Infantino slings. It did not say how the babies died.
In its general warning, the CPSC said infants could suffocate in two ways, from a sling’s fabric pressing against a baby’s nose and mouth, blocking the baby’s breathing and suffocating a baby within a minute or two, or from the baby cradled in a curved position causing the infant to flop its head forward, restricting breathing.
Slings have been promoted by baby experts as a way to calm fussy babies or for nursing mothers who can breastfeed in the sling. Baby experts and breast-feeding advocates insist that not all slings are dangerous. They say carriers that keep a newborn baby solidly against the mother’s body in an upright position are safe.
