OH just woke me to inform me we wont be using our sling for bubba.............

[babybel]

because of this


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1259358/Yummy-mummy-baby-slings-kill.html

Was really looking forward to using it and thought that lots of ladies on here used them just fine, is the paper just scaremongering?

xx

 

[rwhite]

To be honest, I think it mainly is scaremongering. You'd think a responsible parent would be conscious enough of their baby's safety to keep an eye on how they were doing in there I'll certainly still be using my sling, it'll be a godsend when doing housework etc if bubs is needing a feed at the same time, or isn't quite ready to go down for a sleep

xx

 

[Smiley Lou]

I agree, I think as long as you can see the babies face and can it is breathing fine they are ok. Maybe dont use them until the baby has a strong neck ?!

 

[rwhite]

I just thought of something else - ladies in third world countries use slings all the time to transport their babies and they survive (though there's not much research, just me assuming here ) just fine x

 

[Bumbled Bee]

As long as the baby is upright and higher than the mothers navel, it doesn't seem to be a problem. I think the wraps or bjorn style carriers fit that description. And to be honest, as long as you are keeping a close eye on baby, everything should be fine.

 

[mummydee]

to quote...

"But now an investigation has been launched in the U.S. into 14 deaths associated with baby slings over the last 20 years, including three in 2009. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months"

if you think of how many people use slings, even just in a year, then three deaths in one year from the use of slings would surely point at "operator error" rather than them being generally unsafe... any sensible parent would know to check that their baby wasnt twisted uncomfortably/had plenty of access to air etc etc

I also agree with Rosys comment about people in the 3rd world carrying their babies that way

I'll still be using my sling!

 

[CocoaOne]

I think the main problems come when you wear the baby very low slung and with baby on their back (as it looks like Nicolle is in the pic) as then the baby's chin is tucked into their chest and it's easier to suffocate them like that.
If you wear a sling properly (especially when baby can't lift their head properly) the baby's head should be upright, supported and easy for them to breathe.

I hate the Daily Mail - women can't do anything right in their eyes!

 

[lynnikins]

For crying out loud your about to be a mother , that article is in the DAILY MAIL the most scarmongering INCORRECT newspaper in the whole dam country, Do yourself a favor and dont read articles from the daily mail they have no research that is credited to back up anything they say, during the recent swineflu outbreak they said that everyone who took the dead vaccine was going to get some crippling muscular disibility that a smal amount of people got from a live swineflu vaccine that was developed in the USA in the 70's and that the ingrediants for that caused the problem have been taken out of every vaccine since.

I dont mean to be harsh or rude but please dont read the daily mail you will be doing youself a favor and your children a favour in the long term

 

[MrsGlitz]

I haven't read the article but the Daily Mail is well known to be scaremongering!

 

[sarahchops86]

As others have said, I wouldnt take a daily mail article as fact, there was a story in it recently that said if you watch sad (or was it scary) films you are more likely to have a stillbirth or premature delivery. Seriously. I think it said the sound of music was good lmao

 

[snailien]

Yeah, don't listen to the papers, especially the mail forgodsake! The media makes me so angry sometimes! Grrr.

"The British Government has not issued any safety warnings about slings but the Department of Health said parents should follow the guidelines printed in its Pregnancy Book, which is handed out free to expectant parents."

There, if the Government were worried they'd issue a safety warning... and i believe in the NHS book there is even a picture of a lady using a sling!

 

[bky]

Our Moby wrap from my mother just arrived today and OH is now making grumpy noises about it.
I told him it's the bag ones that are the issue. He was just more on board with it before. *sigh*

 

[acdmommy]

yeah my doctors have all told me to NEVER use the slings because there is little support and apparently lots of babies have fallen out... i have always used a baby carrier like a front carrying backpack there is plenty of neck support and back support for mum...or dad, and they are made so that there is no way that baby could smother or suffocate unless you laid on top if them lol
........ each to their own but i would never

 

[maybebaby3]

i had a babybjorn carrier with my DD and will definately be using it with this baby2! the baby is not in a curled position in it.

 

[LogansMama]

Funny you should post this. I never used one with last baby, but was excited to try one this time. I told EVERYONE I wanted one.

A couple days ago my MIL called me up and told me I CANT USE ONE cause baby will suffocate! I think thats ridiculous! I;m sorry to the moms that this happened too - but really - HTH can your baby suffocate while you are holding them - without your noticing something is wrong beforehand? You'd have to be totally oblivious, on drugs, or sleeping or something for that to happen!

I'm really not worried about it happening to us!

 

[MrsGlitz]

OK I just read the article. That 'sling' that Nicole Kidman is pictured with doesn't look safe at all! It just looks like she has wrapped the baby in a sheet and tied that around her!

 

[lynnikins]

the "sling" that Nicole is wearing in the pic is being used incorrectly , it shouldnt be worn like that, there are loads of different types of slings and carriers , my biggest insistance is that the one i use doesnt have an adverse affect on the babys hip joints as i have hip joint problems and have throughout my life because of shallow hip joints which combined with my parents using a poorly designed front carrier for me ment that my hips are partially dislocatable,
i intend on a Pouch sling for this baby and will be getting one that works for me and baby by buying after the baby is here and having a good look around and trying out what works best, it should ideally allow me to breastfeed more discretly in public and mean that im not having to hassle with holding baby correctly while still coping with a toddler needing attention

 

[MiniKat]

I have a sling and im using it!!

 

[Missy86]

I am still gonna use mine

 

[Minstermind]

I started a thread on this very thing in General Chatter

https://www.babyandbump.com/general-chatter/292454-warning-baby-slings.html

as I too was looking forward to using one and was surprised when I heard the U.S. government, via the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is issuing warnings on the slings because of the infant deaths that occurred.

I agree that being vigilant and making sure to use one ''properly'' can prevent these problems, and that goes without saying for a lot of baby contraptions, lol... however, I do pay some attention to this because the government has decided to issue the warning and it's not coming from a sensationalist paper, so how much you want to think it's scaremongering depends on your comfort level with it.

I realize there haven't been *a lot* of deaths overall with them but some of the ladies on the thread I linked to also said they didn't feel the slings were as comfortable after a period of time as other things they tried, and opted for a variety of other carriers, including the Babyhawk, Mei Tei, Connecta, Moby Wrap, etc... after looking at the sites for some of these, I do think they're more appealing to me after all.

I suppose the sling reminds me of carrying my school backpack full of books on just one shoulder. That can get sore after awhile, which I think is what some of the ladies said was their experience with them. I think I'd be more comfortable in the end having something where the weight is evenly distributed over both shoulders, but that's just my personal preference.

I had originally wanted to be using the sling right from the beginning to do some walking but I can see how this could potentially be a bit dodgy for a newborn baby. It would probably be better to use when baby is a bit bigger and older, but I think I'm just more comfortable avoiding the problem altogether and will be getting one of the other baby carriers instead.