JumpSac Baby

We were asked a few times whether the JumpSac ring sling is the same as the widely available ‘bag slings’ as shown in the picture below. Because as you can see, some of the bag slings are adjustable too, like the ring slings. So, it should work probably the same, right? Right? No.

Bag Sling or Duffel Bag-style baby sling

Bag slings unfortunately are not recommended among the babywearing circles, if not opposed strongly.
Here’s the thing, if you look at this bag sling carefully, you can immediately see that the ‘pouch area’ where the baby lies in there is just too deep, and too wide. And cradle carry is perhaps the only way to go with the bag sling.
As you can already imagine, baby would just have too much space to move in there, and there’s a high potential of the baby rotating his head into the sides of the carrier, which is dangerous. Furthermore, wearing the baby high up, secure and snugly is just not possible.

Unlike the ring sling in which the depth of the pouch area is adjustable to let it be shallow. If worn in the cradle carry position, the baby’s head can be effectively sandwiched between the sides of the ring sling, preventing the infant from easily rotating his head into the sides of the carrier.
Also, with a ring sling, it is possible to wear even a newborn in an upright position (the tummy to tummy position) – see photo below. Worn high up, secure and snug to the wearer’s body, it makes it easier for the wearer to monitor the baby in the slings.

JumpSac Baby Ring Sling - Malaysia's Favourite Ring Sling

As for the bag slings, an even worse situation is where, due to the pouch area’s depth being too deep, parents or the wearer can’t easily see the baby in there. It’s like wearing your baby in a duffle bag. With the pouch area being too deep, there can only be a very small opening at the top. The infant may not receive an adequate amount of oxygen / fresh air. The concern is that carbon dioxide levels could rise the longer the infant remains in the sling.
The baby might be mistaken of enjoying the ride in the slings as he’s seen as being in ‘deep slumber’ due to not receiving enough oxygen! So, never assume and never leave your baby unattended in the slings.

With the bag sling, there’s a high possibility of carbon dioxide poisoning due to positional asphyxia and SIDS.
For more information on the dangers of re-breathing the cardon dioxide, see this article:
“About Carbon Dioxide Poisoning and SIDS”

Another important thing to note is that the design of a bag sling causes the baby to curl chin to chest, Bigger babies are more prone to this so because their heads are positioned further up in the sling (in the cradle carry position). When a baby’s chin touches the baby’s chest, the airway is blocked, causing the baby to work harder to breathe.

For more information on the importance of maintaining an infant’s head and neck in an aligned position and to avoid the chin to chest position, see this article:
“Baby car seat ‘cot death’ concerns”

Bottom line is, not all slings are created the same.
Know your sling and carriers well, and avoid the bag slings.
Wear your baby high up and secure, and never leave your baby unattended.

For correct positioning using the JumpSac Baby Ring Sling and Carriers, please check out the Wearing Instructions.
You can also view the Quick Video Guide on Correct Wearing and Positioning uploaded on the Fan Page.

Happy babywearing!

Syaz of JumpSac Baby.com

Tags: baby carrier, Baby Sling, babywearing, bag sling, jumpsac, ring sling

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 8:43 am and is filed under Baby Sling, Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.