Member Comments

I have been a member of Consumer for many years now and generally find the reports to be informative and accurate. However I urge you please to check your information regarding slings and carriers with an organisation such as www.slingbabies.co.nz. as there are many glaring inaccuracies in this report. For a start, when talking about 'slings' you have a photo of a 'wrap'. Quite different kinds of carriers. The information regarding a 'drawstring helps to secure your baby to stop them falling out' is very unsafe. A drawstring is probably more likely to stop a baby breathing than keep them in place. Although you referenced the slingbabies website on the 'soft front packs' page (which was a great thing to do) you then displayed a picture which was contrary to the advice you were quoting. It would also be helpful for your members if you looked into the myriad of soft structured carriers which are now available. We need to be able to trust you Consumer. This is not the high quality report your members are used to - please, please, please address this.

I have a sling that I have been using on my baby since she was born she is 3 mths old now. I think slings are fantastic, at times we have used our pram at shops and they are so big and bulky and just a hassle in busy places. The sling is awesome in these circumstances. Front pack carriers can have a negative impact on your back. Like anything it comes down to parents being careful and using commensense about equipment they use on their babies. Even the safest of equipment can cause injury if parents are not careful.

The recent (April 2010) sling article correctly comments on the dangers of bag type slings. These are very dangerous, as they can lead to suffocation, or falls. I believe most of the worst types have been removed from the market, however you still see a few on Trade Me, and you can still buy one from retail stores that has just a narrow strap over your shoulder. This causes most people a lot of pain, and you can't breastfeed in it either.

However the article doesn't talk about the great slings out there, pouch slings, ring slings, wraps, or ssc's. These are typically safer than a pushchair, evenly spread baby's weight, and can be used to breastfeed in.

As Consumer recommended "A soft-padded front pack" as being safer, it may be useful to distinguish between those that are good for baby's spine, ie a mei tai or ssc, where baby 'sits' in the sling, and other styles where baby is suspended by their crotch.

check out www.slingbabies.co.nz to see how there are more options than those listed here.

Also the carriers that swing the baby from the crotch are not good for the baby, the baby is in a bad posture for their back and hips. Much better to be in a 'frog' posture where the back and hips and pelvis is supported.

Please do futher research, as the report above is sadly lacking.

This report is missing a whole segment of carriers - soft structured carriers like Ergo, Manduca, Patapum (to name just a few). These are very popular baby carriers and much more comfortable for parent and baby than the ones you have reviewed. Please update your report to include these types of carriers!

Can you please investigate SSC's? My limit research shows me this is where Baby carriers market is.
Just a comment on face out front carriers "how would you like to support your weight by your crotch?"