A QUIE T PLA CE
The Mothering community has both the
history
and the
expertise
to inform the creation of
safety
standards
for slings.
It is important that we both
monitor
and
participate
in this
process.
“Wearing Your Baby,” that we published in our Winter 1989 issue. Sears stated that he’d fi rst learned about babywear- ing while researching his book The
Fussy Baby: How to Bring Out the Best in Your High-Need Child (La Leche League
International, 1985), and had seen how eff ective babywearing was in his own family when his wife, Martha, fashioned a homemade sling from a bedsheet. Sears went on to develop his own baby carrier. Many of our advertisers—babyTrekker, Baby Wrap, Maya Wrap, New Native— have also been pioneers in the fi eld of babywearing. While babywearing is a practical solu-
tion for a busy mother, it is also benefi cial to the child. Recent studies have shown that babywearing facilitates breastfeed- ing, decreases crying, and helps babies sleep better. The benefi ts of touching have been well documented, and we know that physical contact between mother and baby is associated with the release of oxytocin, a hormone respon- sible for positive emotions and the inhibi- tion of the negative eff ects of stress. A recent study at Columbia University
compared the attachment of babies carried in a baby carrier vs. babies carried in a car seat. The study showed that, at 13 months, the babies who had been transported in wearable carriers were signifi cantly more likely to demonstrate a strong attachment to their mothers. If babywearing has so many benefi ts,
Above:
1976—John McMahon
with daughter Lally in a Kelty backpack
then why have safety concerns been raised about slings? In the last 20 years, the total number of deaths attributable to slings has been 14. Twelve of those deaths were of babies younger than four months, and most of those 12 were either born pre- maturely, were low-birth-weight twins, or had breathing diffi culties, such as a cold. Despite the tragedy of even one dead infant, less than one death per year is a very low number compared to other causes of infant death. The leading cause of infant death, congenital anomalies, resulted in 5,623 deaths in 2002. Birth trauma caused 345 infant deaths. Ho- micide claimed the lives of 303 infants,
14 mothering | May–June 2010
motor-vehicle accidents 120, and drown- ing 63. In addition, the three most recent deaths reported have all been associated with one model of sling: the recalled Infantino SlingRider. But even car seats can be dangerous if used incorrectly; as they should with any baby product, parents must know how to properly use slings and baby car- riers. Fortunately, babywearing classes are held in cities all over the country. In 2006, when M’Liss Stelzer, a
babywearing teacher and former nurse, came to our offi ce to tell us of her own concerns about the safety of slings, we asked her to write an article for us. Her “Babywearing Bliss” appeared in our January–February 2007 issue (Mothering no. 140). In that award-winning article, now part of our Babywearing 101 reprint, Stelzer outlined general guidelines for safe babywearing, several of which also apply to positioning babies in car seats:
• Choose only a sling that lets you see baby’s face.
• Be sure baby is not curled up
tightly, chin to chest. This position can restrict breathing, especially in newborns or infants who cannot yet hold up their heads.
• Make sure that the sling fabric is “breathable,” and keep baby’s face clear of the fabric.
• Do not press baby’s face tightly
against your body.
• Position baby’s face upward.
• Reposition baby if there are any signs of respiratory diffi culty: rapid or labored breathing, grunting or sighing with every breath, or restlessness.
In response to the CPSC warning, we
created a “Mothering Special Report— Babywearing” at
www.mothering.com/
green-living/mothering-special-report-
babywearing, and on March 22 we aired a radio show, “Safe Babywearing.” The show featured Glenda Criss-Forshey, president of Babywearing International; Alma Gordillo-Webb, moderator of the babywearing community for Mothering- DotCommunity (MDC); Jane McClintock of QuirkyBaby, creator of Facebook’s Babywearing Safety Page; and M’Liss Stelzer, author of “Babywearing Bliss.” To listen to the one-hour show, click on “Radio” on the
Mothering.com homepage. We applaud the CPSC for recalling the Infantino SlingRider. While some
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