After at least three infants died of suffocation while being carried in Infantino “SlingRider” or “Wendy Bellissimo” baby slings, the San Diego-based company issued a recall of 1 million of the products in the U.S. and 15,000 throughout Canada. Earlier this month a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) told the Associated Press, “We know of too many deaths in these slings and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies… So, the time has come to alert parents and caregivers.” This morning, the CPSC issued a joint press release with Health Canada and Infantino advising consumers to stop using the slings completely for children under 4 months of age, in light of the reported deaths of infants younger than three months from Philadelphia, Salem, Oregon and Cincinnati. The fabric slings, which were sold at numerous outlets throughout the U.S.—including Walmart, Babies “R” Us and Target and online at Amazon.com—between 2003 and this month cost between $25 to $30. For any consumers who own the product, Infantino has offered a free replacement with another model baby carrier, or other infant products. View larger images of the recalled products:
