It’s not that we like recalls, but we’d always rather see a product pulled from store shelves and banished from home use than to hear that it hurt—or killed—a baby. So it is with great relief that we applaud this morning’s recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada of more than one million Infantino baby slings. The CPSC knows of three infants who died in these slings in 2009.

As we’ve previously reported on this blog, a 7-week-old infant in Philadelphia, a 6-day-old infant from Salem, OR; and a 3-month-old infant in Cincinnati all died of anoxia, or lack of oxygen, after being carried in an Infantino SlingRider.
 
Two models are being recalled: Infantino SlingRider and the similar Wendy Bellisimo, which was sold exclusively at Babies “R” Us. The slings were for sale in the U.S. and Canada from January 2003 through March 2010 at Walmart, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Babies “R” Us, BJ’s Wholesale, Amazon.com, and various other retailers for $25 to $30. The slings were also recalled in Canada.
 
The CPSC advises consumers to stop using the sling immediately for infants younger than four months old. Babies that young often don't have neck muscles strong enough to hold their head up or turn if their breathing is blocked, so there's a risk of suffocation. Infantino is offering sling owners a choice of  replacement products that they may or may not want. See the recall notice for details. Consumers can contact Infantino at 866-860-1361 or at www.infantino.com.
 
Our Take:  We brought our concerns about the hazards of the Infantino SlingRider to the attention of the CPSC last November after we learned of two infant deaths associated with its use. At that time, we requested that they seek a recall of the product before any other babies were hurt. Sadly, another baby died in December after being carried in a SlingRider. We repeated our push for a recall in a blog post on March 10. Part of Consumers Union's mission is to reduce the number of unsafe products in the marketplace; we are very relieved to see this recall.

Read more

• Baby deaths raise concerns about Infantino slings
• CPSC echos CU's concerns about sling carriers