By Jayne Garrod

Baby Wearing-the practice of wearing your baby in a sling is rapidly gaining in popularity as more and more parents discover the many benefits it has to offer both parents and babies. It is a convenient, portable, hands free method of transporting your baby with ease, and gives babies a sense of calm, security and trust when they are carried.

Parents in traditional cultures have known this for thousands of years. It’s a common sight to see women in tribal cultures carrying babies around on their fronts, sides or backs in slings. They are able to work this way, while the babies are snug and secure close to mum.
An American woman Jean Leidloff studied a tribal culture in the South American Jungle for 2 and a half years, the Yequana, and the results of that study were published in the groundbreaking 1970’s book “The Continuum Concept” Here is a brief except discussing the tribe’s habit of continual carrying or wearing of their infants

“Babes in arms almost never cried and, fascinatingly, did not wave their arms, kick, arch their backs, or flex their hands and feet. They sat quietly in their slings or slept on someone's hip — exploding the myth that babies need to flex to "exercise." They also did not throw up unless extremely ill and did not suffer from colic. When startled during the first months of crawling and walking, they did not expect anyone to go to them but rather went on their own to their mother or other caretakers for the measure of reassurance needed before resuming their explorations. Without supervision, even the smallest tots rarely hurt themselves.”

The Many Benefits of Wearing Your Baby

• Babies, who are worn, cry less. Studies carried out by doctors, hospitals and childcare workers in the US have shown that infants carried throughout the day, spend considerably less time crying than those who are not. Anthropologists who travel throughout the world studying infant-care practices in other cultures agree that infants in baby wearing cultures cry much less. Carrying your baby in a sling reduces her level of stress hormones. Sling babies have a reduced incidence of colic and are less susceptible to vomiting.

• Sling worn babies learn more. As baby wearing advocate Dr William Sears noted “Sling babies spend more time in the state of quiet alertness. This is the behavioural state in which an infant is most content and best able to interact with his environment”.

 

• Wearing your baby is convenient. It is a lot easier to carry a sling around with you while out, than to cart around a hefty, bulky stroller. Slings are lightweight, very portable, do not get caught in aisles while shopping, and don’t take up precious space while travelling, by car, public transport, or plane.

• Babies feel secure being worn in a sling. Babies and toddlers love being worn in a sling.  Baby wearing simulates the sensations of pressure, motion, warmth and security of the womb. They feel safe, are close to mum or dad, and are at a much better vantage point to take in the world around them.

• Sling wearing makes breastfeeding easier. Slings are ideal for breastfeeding. Wearing your baby in a sling provides her with constant and easy access to breastfeeding, and makes feeding in public easy and discreet. The baby in the lying down position is at exactly the right position to access the   breast, and you don’t even have to be sitting down!  Slings are also ideal for bottle feeding, ensuring a close and natural bond between mother and baby.

• Baby wearing benefits Premature or Pre term infants. Baby wearing has been shown to strongly benefit premature infants and lower their mortality rate. It is the ideal extension of “Kangaroo Care” or skin to skin contact, a method favoured by Midwives and Obstetricians to promote parent/infant bonding in special care babies.

• Baby wearing makes work easier. Baby wearing means you are holding bubs hands free, so it’s easier to do several things at once. (Something mums are constantly doing!) It is also much easier to carry baby for long periods of time, unlike holding bubs in your arms which tends to get heavy and tiring.

• Baby wearing brings you closer to your baby. Baby wearing promotes a loving close bond between mother and baby, or baby and its carer.  When your baby is held close to you in a sling, you become very sensitive to each other's gestures and facial expressions. Baby often has no need to cry, as its needs are being met and anticipated while in the sling.

• Slings are an ideal way to get baby to sleep. Nothing soothes a baby to sleep faster, than feeling safe, and warm, and secure, next to its mum. Babies sleep longer and more comfortably when in a sling

• Baby wearing promotes brain development. The natural movement and stimulation provided by being in a sling promotes neurological development. Because baby is intimately involved in the mother and father's world, she is exposed to, and participates in, the environmental stimuli that mother selects and is protected from those stimuli that bombard or overload her developing nervous system

• Slings can be used from birth until up to 3 years of age. Slings can be used to carry toddlers, from age 1-3 or above, in the hip or back carry positions. Often toddlers refuse to be carried, or pushed in a stroller, and wish to assert their independence by walking. However, they often grow tired before you’re ready to go home, so a sling popped in your handbag, is great backup! Toddlers who were/are carried in slings often initiate separation sooner, and become more self-reliant

 

Types of carriers

Adjustable Slings. A baby carrier made from soft fabric which is worn over the wearer’s shoulder and under the opposite arm is known as a sling. These are generally regarded as being the most versatile and easy to use of the baby carriers as well as being the best for the wearer’s back. Adjustable Slings can either be padded or unpadded, and fastened with a clip or rings. Individual preferences differ as to which type is better however there are advantages to all types. Ring slings are easy to adjust while wearing the baby, but take a bit of practise initially. Clip slings are very easy to take on and off from the outset, but are harder to adjust. The fabric in an unpadded ring sling can be pulled over the wearers shoulder thus evenly distributing the baby's weight, meaning the sling doesn't pull on the wearers shoulders, however other wearers prefer a padded sling as they find it more comfortable. All these types of sling are extremely versatile  and can be worn in numerous positions, including front, back, side, sitting up, lying down, facing in or out.

Pouch or tube slings. This is essentially a piece of fabric, hemmed and folded over to form a pouch where the baby lies. These are not adjustable, however they are extremely easy to use, and great for beginners. They are worn across the wearer’s body, similar to an adjustable sling.

Wraparound: A wraparound carrier (or wrap carrier) consists of a  long piece of cloth  that is wrapped around the wearer (and baby) and then tied. There are many different ways to tie wraparounds, enabling your baby to be positioned in  different positions. Most of the wraps go over both of the wearer's shoulders and around the waist, giving  good support & security. Wraparound carriers can be either stretchy or non stretchy but this again depends on the wearers preference.

Back Carriers: Soft, semi structured Back carriers are an increasingly popular baby carrying option. The big advantage of these is they are very comfortable for the wearer and baby, and so a baby or toddler can be worn for several hours. They are however not as suitable for smaller babies who need regular acess to the breast, or who don’t have good head control, and are harder to get on and off than a ring or tube sling.

Whatever carrier you decide upon, you can be sure that wearing your baby or toddler will be an enjoyable, convenient, and bonding experience for the two of you!

Jayne Garrod is a baby wearing mother of 2, and the owner of Hip Bubby Baby Slings and Alternative Baby website.