Benefits of Baby Wearing
The
Benefits Of Wearing Your Baby
Babywearing is the practice of carrying an infant in a sling or babycarrier. It is an ancient tradition practiced by many cultures around the world and one which is rapidly becoming a growing trend in the West. It is one of the main principles of attachment parenting, a phrase pediatrician Dr. William Sears coined to describe a style of parenting which is more baby-centered than adult-centered.
Babywearing is a hugely rewarding experience which brings many benefits to both you and your child. In a culture that is geared up to separating mother and child as much as possible, (through the use of car seats, buggies, playpens, bouncers and nurseries, etc) babywearing brings some welcome physical contact to an infant who might otherwise spend entire days without any prolonged human touch.
Benefits for baby:
1 Emotional and Social Development
- Being carried in a sling in the time straight after birth helps a baby to adapt more gently to life outside the womb. Pressed up against mum's warm body they continue to hear her heartbeat and her voice and to feel the rhythm of her movements as though they were still in the womb. It is even more beneficial for premature babies who have been clinically shown to thrive if regularly touched, stroked and held.
- Studies show that babies who are regularly held cry between 43% - 56% less than non- carried babies.
- Carried babies tend to develop a more secure attachment to their main caregiver and they are likely to become independent at a younger age. Using a sling is also a great way for babies to bond with different caregivers.
- Carried babies are regularly talked to by the adult carrying them and also by other adults who are far more likely to engage with a child "in-arms" than one down in a buggy. This provides the baby with valuable social skills; enables him/her to study body language and facial expressions and "humanises" the baby by teaching it the practices of his/her own social group.
2 Intellectual Development
- Their position 'up' in the world means that "In-arms"
babies spend more time in a "quiet alert" state - the state
most suited to learning.. They are involved in their carer's daily activities,
constantly absorbing and processing information, and, since they are
talked to more frequently, language and communication skills develop
sooner.
3 Physical benefits
- Because babies can happily sleep in a sling, babywearing significantly reduces or eliminates "flat head syndrome" which is caused by the baby spending too much time lying flat, on his /her back or in the car seat.
- Hammock-style slings (such as ring-slings, pouches and wraps) cradle and support the entire length of baby's spine regardless of the particular position the baby is placed in the sling. Colicky babies often prefer to be held upright and this can be done in a hammock-style sling whilst still providing spinal support.
Benefits for 'mum'
1 Convenient, Practical and Versatile
- A sling can be an enormous help around the house when you have lots of jobs to get on with but baby refuses to be put down. In a sling, baby is content and entertained, whilst you regain the use of both your arms. It is also a great way to get a reluctant baby off to sleep without your arms going off to sleep too!
- In some situations buggies and car seats are a struggle: It is much easier to negotiate buses, the Tube, or crowded shops with a baby in a sling; trips to the beach or country walks become much more enjoyable without the physical effort of lugging a heavy pram around. Once you have the knack, baby can be popped in and out of a sling in seconds so nipping around in the car doing all those little jobs becomes much quicker if you don't have to keep buckling and un-buckling the car seat or heaving the buggy out of the boot (and it is much easier to carry just the baby than to carry the baby AND its car seat!).
- Parents with more than one child may find double buggies costly and cumbersome. A sling allows you to continue using your single buggy whilst the new sibling can ride up close to mum.
- Breast-feeding in public can be off-putting to even the most determined breastfeeding mum. A ring sling provides cover for discreet public feeding and some women find that they can even feed whilst walking around.
- Many women who suffer from post-natal depression
find it difficult to make eye contact or interact with their baby. However,
carrying the baby means that the baby feels reassured by mother's closeness,
despite the lack of interaction. At the same time, physical contact
with the baby increases the mother's progesterone levels and this in
turn can promote a closer maternal bond and help her to adjust to her
new child more quickly.
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