Babywearing
As a new mom you may feel overwhelmed by the latest parenting tools and techniques that seem to be just the whim of culture. Your mom will give you outdated advice on how she raised you and you may feel stuck between trusting your mothers advice while feeling the pressure that comes with 2010 recommendations. You may even feel like babies can’t possibly change that much from generation to generation, so do parenting techniques really have be up to par with the 21st century? And then an old idea resurfaces and reminds us all of the fact that recommendations are just that, suggestions. But the tried and true ideas that come back again usually do so because they really work, one of these ideas being babywearing, a term for the simple idea of carrying your baby in something other than your arms.
In many cultures over many generations, wearing your baby has simply involved tying the baby to the person carrying them with a long piece of cloth. For newborns, this served to keep babies close with mothers when they had to return to their work in the fields or the farm. Baby had access to food and sleep and mom could keep up with the duties that were required for survival of her family. Flash forward to the Baby Boomers and we hit the era of playpens and enough space that everyone had their own room. Parents of small children, rather than needing to wear their child to carry on with life, were now encouraged to be quite separate from baby and specifically, not to carry their children too much as it would interfere with their ability to become independent.
We have come full circle. A quick view into any baby magazine or boutique proves that we are reviving the ancient art of babywearing with all the sophistication of the new mileenium. Why the revert? We have learned a lot in the last 30 years, about how important interaction between caregiver and newborn promotes physical, mental and emotional development. First and foremost, sleep-deprived parents want a way to help their baby cry less and babywearing has been shown to do just that in infants younger than 12-weeks-old. Babies who are regularly carried, cried 43% less overall and 54% less in the evening; this is great news for babies and parents. Interestingly, we have also learned that babies develop a sense of security when carried and that facilitates bonding with their caregiver and becoming more independent at an earlier age. Finally, we now know that babywearing helps to integrate a newborn's nervous system making life on the outside easier sooner.
Not only does the research speak for itself, the experience of wearing your newborn in a wrap or sling makes the first few months of motherhood much easier on everyone. Though babywearing is a great way to bond with your newborn, you may have heard the safety of slings questioned in the news lately and wonder what, and who, to believe. Though infant slings have been associated with only 14 deaths in the last 20 years, the 2009 death of a newborn in an Infantino Sling Rider sling has brought the safety of infant carriers to the news. In the 2009 case, the infant’s cause of death was reported as “positional asphyxiation,” a situation in which the C-curve of the sling is so dramatic that the newborn is curled in a chin-to-chest position, which restricts the baby’s airway. Of the sling deaths attributed to this particular issue, most of the infants had already compromised airways and were under 4 months old. The other reported sling deaths were generally related to falls from the slings. In a few cases, these were due to the failure of the weld on the metal ring on the ring sling.
So what does a new or expectant parent make of this information? Here are a few thoughts:
Babywearing International released a statement encouraging parents not to distrust the safety of slings, but encouraged parents that "wearing an infant in a well-constructed carrier and using proper babywearing techniques are of utmost importance. When done properly, babywearing is a safe and beneficial parenting tool." A visit to their website reinforces that the chin-to-chest position is dangerous for newborns and that parents need to be aware of baby’s airway by avoiding this C-curve position and ensuring that the carrier’s fabric remains clear from the baby’s face.
As a postpartum professional, I fully support the statement made by Babywearing International The research is clear that, when used correctly, infant slings do NOT compromise oxygen flow to the baby at all. Babywearing is safe, even in a sling, when done correctly. When looking to purchase a sling keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure the pouch of the sling cannot be cinched in a way that places baby in the dangerous chin-to-chest position.
- Make sure the fabric of the sling breathable.
- If looking to purchase a ring sling, buy one without welding joints in the ring and learn how to use them correctly.
- Finally, we encourage all those interested in babywearing to seek good information on how to use your carrier safely.
