The death of a six-week-old boy who died during ‘hands-free’ breastfeeding has led a coroner to warn about the dangers of baby slings. James Alderman, known as Jimmy, was being breastfed within a baby carrier worn by his mother as she moved around their West London home on October 8 2023.
An inquest into his death heard Jimmy was in an unsafe position too far down the sling and, after five minutes, he collapsed. Resuscitation was started straight away but he died three days later in St George’s Hospital in Tooting on October 11 2023. The medical cause of death was hypoxic brain injury, caused by cardiac arrest due to accidental suffocation.
The TICKS acronym, prepared by the now disbanded UK consortium of sling retailers and manufacturers, had not been followed. It stands for: Tight, In view at all times, Close enough to kiss, Keep chin off the chest, and Supported back.
An inquest was held at West London Coroner’s Court
(Image: MyLondon)
Writing in a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, senior coroner for West London Lydia Brown said ‘very little’ safety information about baby slings was available to parents despite a ‘significant increase’ in their use. Ms Brown also said there appeared to be ‘no advice’ on the risk of ‘baby slumping’ and suffocation, or the dangers of ‘hands-free’ breastfeeding with slings.
Ms Brown called for industry standards and readily available public information promoting the safe use of slings. “There appeared to be no helpful visual images of ‘safe’ versus ‘unsafe’ sling/carrier postures,” she said, adding: “The NHS available literature provides no guidance or advice”.
“In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths,” she said. Copies of the coroner’s report, were sent to a baby carrier manufacturer and a baby sling manufacturer, as well as the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and the British Standards Institution (BSI).
The coroner’s full list of concerns are:
- There is very little information available to inform parents of safety and positioning advice of young babies in carriers/slings and in particular nothing in relation to breastfeeding in carriers/slings
- This is notwithstanding a significant increase over recent years in the use of such equipment.
- The question of whether it is safe to breastfeed “hands free” is not addressed or referred to in the public domain or manufacturers literature.
- The NHS available literature provides no guidance or advice.
- The only current “tips” are provided on the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) website but these are in fact unhelpful
- Young babies are at risk of suffocation.
- Consideration should be given to industry standards to promote the safe use of slings/carriers, to warn users of the risks and whether any such standards should be voluntary or mandatory.
A spokesperson for The Lullaby Trust, a charity providing advice on safer sleep for babies, told the BBC: “The safest baby carrier to use will keep the infant firmly in an upright position where a parent can always see their baby’s face, and ensure their airways are free.”
NHS England, the Health department, the OPSS, and the BSI were approached for comment.
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