By Serena Solomon and Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo Staff
UPPER EAST SIDE — Baby slings, a popular way to carry infants for many Manhattan parents, are coming under fire from the government for being unsafe and, in a few cases, deadly.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to issue a general warning to the public about the slings this week, according to their Web site.
"We know of too many deaths in these slings and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies," CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said in a recent address.
The slings are popular with many parents because they wrap around the body and hold the infant close. They can be dangerous if the baby flops forward into collapsed position and cannot breathe, or if the infant's face is pressed into the parents chest or stomach and suffocates, the Associated Press reported.
Chelsea resident Kathryn Crosby used to use a baby sling for her son William when he was a month old, but she wasn't a big fan it.
"I felt he could just slip out." said Crosby, who has since switched to an upright Ergo baby carrier for her 5-month old son. "It was just a big piece of fabric. I always had to have my hands holding him."
This not the first time the safety of the slings has come into question. Consumer Reports voiced concerns about them in 2008, according to the Daily News.
No specific brands or types of slings have been singled out yet.
