Bag Slings are Bad Slings :(

First I want to start off by saying that if you have worn your baby in a bag sling without knowledge of the dangers, you are not a bad parent!

It is not necessarily common knowledge that bag slings are very dangerous, especially because there are some still on the market and they are often found at consignment sales.

Above is a picture of Bag Sling that has been recalled after infants died in it. ANY sling in this design is extremely dangerous.

Here’s Why…

Infantino Recalls to Replace SlingRider Baby Slings; Three Infant Deaths Reported

The above link is the CPSC recall for Infantino brand bag slings. This link lists that there were three infant deaths, but the toll when factoring other bag slings is fourteen, and those are only the ones that have been specifically identified by CPSC.

To sum up the info, bag slings put babies in a position that crunches their neck to their chest, impairing their ability to breathe. Because of the depth of the bag a baby worn in this sling literally dissappears from view, preventing the wearer from monitoring the baby without first pulling open the sling.

When you are wearing a baby in any sling you should at all times be able to monitor the baby.

It is illegal to resell recalled items such as the Infantino SlingRider, yet they often slip into consignment sales because not everyone knows of the recall.

Unfortunately, only this brand of bag sling (and I think one other, but will have to dig up the link) has been recalled, so other bag slings from different makers are still sold and putting children at risk.

Uhoh, I have/know someone who has one of these…What do I do?

If you have a brand of bag sling that has been recalled, you can follow the CPSC instructions to get a replacement if you wish.

If your bag sling has not been recalled or if you don’t want a replacement, dispose of your bag sling immediately. Do not donate it, sell it, or give it away.

I see these at consignment sales all the time!

I have seen bag slings at EVERY consignment sale I have ever been to. If I know that the bag sling is a brand that has officially been recalled, I take it off the rack and inform a consignment worker. As I stated before, it is illegal to resell recalled items.

If you inform a consignment worker that an item is recalled, they should keep it off the floor. If not, you should report to the authorities that recalled items are being sold.

When I see bag slings that are homemade or from other brands, I also inform the consignment workers that the style of sling is dangerous and has caused several deaths. They are not required to removed bag slings that haven’t been recalled, but sometimes they will when they are alerted to the safety hazard.

I see people wearing their babies in bag slings…what should I do?

I have only seen one mother  wearing her baby in a bag sling before. I approached her and commented on how great I thought it was that she is babywearing, and then gently let her know that there was a big recall on that style of sling and she should read up about it online.

She was concerned and interested to hear what I had to suggest as far as safer carriers.

In all honesty, I would hope that if any of you reading this ever come across someone wearing a bag sling you would share the information as I did.

Yes, as parents we can get defensive about things we use or do, but this is not a matter of  “it might be able to hurt your baby”

This is a matter of something that has been proven dangerous, and that knowledge should be shared so that no baby has to be put in that danger.

If they are so bad, why are they still sold?

The United States government is working to develop stringent safety standards for baby carriers.

This is very good news, but it may come at a price as there are several safe and reputable “WAHM” brands that may not survive the cost of safety testing.

Focusing on the good, it will be a happy day when there are safe standards put in place and dangerous products like bag slings are banned from the market.