By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — With the government expected to warn that some baby slings may be hazardous to infants, one Manhattan baby store has taken it upon itself to teach parents how to safely use specific models of the popular carriers.
Metro Minis, location on E. 75th Street and Park Avenue, stocks more than 30 styles of baby slings that do not fall under the general warning that the Associated Press reported that the Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to issue in coming days.
Some slings, a source at the commission told the AP, can be dangerous if the baby flops forward into a collapsed position and cannot breathe, or if the infant's face is pressed into the parents chest or stomach and suffocates.
But co-owner of Metro Minis Joanna McNeil wants parents to understand that there are still plenty of slings that are perfectly safe to use.
"It's only a specific type of carrier that is causing the problem," said McNeil.
Metro Minis, which opened in 2007, offers free classes to educate parents on how to use baby slings safely. The trained staff can also conduct in-store demonstrations when requested.
Koyuki Smith, a staff member at Metro Minis, gave DNAinfo a demonstration, which was recorded on video, of safe and unsafe ways to wear a baby sling.
"The reason the baby has suffocated is because the carrier does not fully support the baby," she said, showing how a low and side slung carrier can cause the baby's head to block its own windpipe.
Smith also showed how placing a baby upright in a carrier can support the head correctly and safely.
