Print edition: 
When I tell people my kids rarely rode in a stroller, that I carried them instead in a blue paisley baby sling that still smells like Dreft, I usually get one of two reactions:
1) "Oh my gosh, I loved my sling, too!"
Or, 2) "A sling? Did that come with a lifetime supply of organic granola? Ha-ha-haaaaa! Wait ... Where did you plant the placenta, Earth Mama? Under the oak tree? Ha-ha-ha! Sling!!"
Now, after a new government warning about certain brands of sling-style carriers, that second group can hurl another potshot at the oft-maligned baby sling: Are those things even safe?
A U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warning this month advised parents to be cautious when using slings — particularly brands that hold babies in a chin-to-chest, curved position — with infants younger than 4 months. The agency is investigating about a dozen suffocation deaths associated with sling-style carriers, many involving premature babies or ones with breathing issues.
I've already heard a few new moms and mothers-to-be swear off slings altogether because of the warning. That's unfortunate.
Like any baby product — cribs, strollers, car seats, playpens — slings come with inherent risks and require parents to be wary and use common sense. When a stroller is deemed unsafe — like one recalled last year because it posed a risk of cutting kids' fingers — we don't ban strollers altogether. We issue warnings and try to make them safer.
Slings, when used properly, can be a fabulous tool. Mine was indispensable during my son's first year, when he needed to be held and nursed and his 3-year-old sister was running free. A patient, experienced friend showed me how to use my sling, and once I got the hang of it I used it in grocery stores, on planes, at the zoo, everywhere.
I all but abandoned my stroller, and not out of some smug, New Age pretense. (I had to laugh at Maggie Gyllenhaal's hippie-mama character in "Away We Go," who whined, "I loooove my babies. Why would I want to push them away from me?")
For me, strollers were bulky and complicated. The sling was simple, easy, convenient. I loved holding my son chest-to-chest, his little noggin in perfect kissing distance, snug and safe.
Lysa Parker, co-founder of Attachment Parenting International and a proponent of slings, says she hopes the recent warning serves to make slings safer and caregivers more aware of how to use them properly.
"It is such a growing phenomenon," Parker said. "We hope parents will make decisions based on the complete picture, not fear."
For more information about slings — including links to the CPSC warning and photos of proper positioning for babies of various ages — check out www.TheBabyWearer.com.
