Baby carriers are an incredibly popular item in the parenting community. No matter their style, they provide parents with a less strenuous and mostly hands-free way to carry their babies around. While most people assume that slings and carriers are safe, Australian doctors are warning parents around the globe about a little-known suffocation danger associated with them amid a string of infant deaths.
Since 2010, three Australian babies have suffocated and died because of infant carriers, according to 9News, and there have been many more "close calls" as well. And unfortunately, these baby carrier deaths aren't isolated incidents. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported in February that between January 2003 and September 2016, 17 US babies died in their infant carriers and 67 babies were injured because of them.
Doctor Nicola Spurrier told 9News that baby carriers themselves aren't necessarily the problem. It also doesn't matter if parents are using traditional baby carriers or the more "comfortable" slings associated with babywearing. The danger is mostly associated with the way babies are held in the carriers — curled up in a C-shape with their mouths and noses pressed up against the wearer's chest.
This dangerous position hinders a baby's ability to breathe properly, and can ultimately lead to suffocation, which is exactly how all three of the Australian carrier deaths happened. "That position, whilst it might be comfortable in the womb, it's certainly not a comfortable or safe position for babies once they're born," Spurrier said.
Spurrier's comment about dangerous baby positioning strike a major chord when you consider the fact that many babies naturally curl up soon after being born because of their C-shaped spines. A 2010 CNN report revealed that one mom, Lisa Cochran, lost her 7-day-old son in a matter of minutes after he suffocated in his carrier in 2009.
While the carrier model she was using was later recalled, the CPSC released a statement noting that the cause of those deaths wasn't their carriers, but improperly carrying such young babies in slings. It said that in addition to the C-shape newborns naturally curl into, the fabric on slings and carriers are also a huge problem. "In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles," the statement read. "The sling's fabric can press against an infant's nose and mouth, blocking the baby's breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two."
9News spoke with Holly Fitzgerald, CEO of Kidsafe — an organization focused on "child accident prevention" — who said that parents don't have to stop using slings and carriers. Instead, we just have to make sure we're using them correctly.
Experts want parents to keep their babies positioned upright, with the sling or carrier tightly secured. They also say that infants' faces and noses should be in clear view. "It's really important parents always observe baby's nose and mouth, ensuring the airway is clear," Fitzgerald said. "Just looking for signs like baby squirming or being disrupted in there, a blue color or tinge to their skin."
Much like the CPSC in the US, Australian experts are telling parents to really read through the safety guidelines that come with slings and carriers and use their best judgment. The CPSC recently ensured that all US carriers manufactured after January 2018 have to include warnings about suffocation hazards and the possibility of infants falling out of slings, and reminders to make sure all hardware is working properly. While these dangers are definitely still present, knowing that these tragedies are preventable with the proper knowledge is definitely a relief.
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