The U.S. government is preparing a safety warning about baby slings -- those popular and fashionable infant carriers that parents can sling around their chests to carry their baby.

The concern is that infants can suffocate, and a few have.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum says her agency is getting ready to issue a general warning to the public, likely to go out this week, about the baby carriers.

She did not single out any specific slings or discuss at least seven reported deaths linked to them.

Safety advocates have cautioned that some slings, where the baby falls into a curved or "C-like" position inside the sling, can lead to suffocation by restricting the baby's breathing.