Babywearing: Why Should I Carry My Baby?
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Wearing Your Baby
Babies are generally not wanted. Millions of women around the world use drugs and devices with the hope they will NOT conceive a child. After all, failure rate equals baby. They even choose to have operations that make them sterile. Just the thought of pregnancy can make men and women feel anxious.
Even if a baby is planned and wanted, we may still be a little uncertain about how we feel about a pregnancy. At times, sleep-deprived parents may look for the receipt to send baby back. And the attitude toward older children is often, “Get away, I’m trying to do this.” Probably the ultimate baby dumping is abortion and infanticide, but even those who, like me, are attachment parents through and through, we still have the tendency to shove children to the side.
Although not as extreme as abortion, parents tend to dump their children as often as they can get away with it. They put them in bouncers, seats, high chairs, swings, cribs, strollers, and playpens. Everybody wants a “good baby” who doesn’t protest when he is cast aside. Then come babysitters, daycare, television, video games, and school. Even if these things are sometimes unavoidable, they are still cases of dumping the child on to somebody or something else. In our culture, how many times a day does a mother put her infant down, hoping he will be “good” while she gets some things done?
Pray for the grace to fight the baby dumping urge, so your infant’s needs would be met during the crucial in-arms phase. Your baby has already been carried day and night in the womb for about nine months. During the next nine months (following birth), it is just as important for a mother (and father) to continue to nurture their child in the form of “kangaroo care”.
A child’s needs for comfort, security, warmth, and touch are met through babywearing, thus enhancing the emotional and physical development of a child. Babies thrive when they are close to their mothers. Don’t be pressured into thinking baby “should be put down.” Relax and see that a baby-in-arms is where he needs to be.
Carrying your baby builds a secure foundation for independence. Our children lived in baby carriers a lot when they were little, which we believe is why they crawled and walked at very young ages. Slings make breastfeeding private and convenient. If we are out for a walk, and baby gets restless, a little milk, on the go, puts him right to sleep. There is even evidence that babywearing reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.(1)
In her book, Attachment Parenting, Katie Allison Granju lists the following benefits of wearing your baby:
* Carried babies cry less.
* Wearing a baby frees a new parent.
* Wearing a young infant protects him from overstimulation.
* The movement of babywearing encourages a tired baby to wind down and go to sleep.
* Carrying your baby promotes his language and social development.
* A baby who is held, carried, and worn frequently and joyfully is less clingy as he grows.
* Wearing your baby promotes your attachment to him.
* Wearing a baby allows a parent to more easily spend time with older children.
* Babywearing helps to get breastfeeding off to a good start.
* Wearing a baby stimulates his developing nervous system in just the right way.(2)
“The increased carrying not only reduced crying, but the researchers felt that carrying promotes proximity to the caregiver which makes crying less necessary. Other benefits of carrying are increased feedings, which tend to facilitate early weight gain and prolonged breastfeeding. Likewise, baby’s contentedness via carrying leads to a state of alertness, and visual exploration, contributes to mother’s positive emotions about mothering, and lessens episodes of child abuse.”(3)
Lifelong benefits of cuddling your baby
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=369379&in_page_id=1799&in_a_source
Babywearing is a far cry from being child-centered. When I do the dishes, make the beds, do the laundry, and tidy up the house, I am not focused on my baby, even though he is usually being carried in his sling. To do these jobs, I do not have to dump my baby. It would be faster and easier, but my baby would be neglected. I don’t carry him in the sling EVERY time I do those chores, mind you, but I try. It helps to have the extra arms of father and siblings as well.
All around the world and throughout history, cultures have found ways to “wear” their infants just as they would wear clothes. We now have many options available to us. In my experience, the best way to imitate the womb is to wear a baby sling. I didn’t even own a stroller until after my third child was born, and even then, I didn’t use it until we were passed the “marsupial” mothering stage. I wore my little ones next to my warm body. Baby could continue to feel my heart beating, listen to my voice, and feel the comfort of touch and familiar movements. These things are not offered by a stroller. Our favorite backpack is the Tough Traveler. We have used the same one for all four of our children.
Learning how to wear your baby may take time and practice. If you keep trying, we are sure you will eventually find babywearing to be comfortable and rewarding.
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© 2001-2010 This website and its contents are copyright and intended for educational purposes only. The information, research, experiences, and links contained herein have not been compiled by a physician and should not be considered as medical advice. Opinions expressed in the reference books and links may not in all cases reflect the beliefs of Carol@parentingfreedom.com.
End Notes
1. William Sears, M.D., SIDS A Parent’s Guide to Understanding and Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1995).
2. Granju, Katie Allison with Betsy Kennedy, R.N., M.S.N., Attachment Parenting – Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child, (New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1999).
3. Sheila Kippling, Carrying Provides Security and Comfort for Infants. CCL Family Foundations, (Cincinnati, OH: The Couple to Couple League, November-December, 1996).
Bibliography
Bolster, Alice. Motherwise – 101 Tips for a New Mother. Schaumburg, Illinois: La Leche League International Inc., 1997.
Granju, Katie Allison with Betsy Kennedy, R.N., M.S.N. Attachment Parenting – Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1999.
Groh, Karen. “In Giving of Ourselves, We Receive,” CCL Family Foundations. Cincinnati, OH: The Couple to Couple League.
Liedloff, Jane. The Continuum Concept – In Search of Happiness Lost. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1994.
Ludington-Hoe, Susan, Ph.D. with Susan K. Golant. Kangaroo Care – The Best You Can Do to Help Your Preterm Infant. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1993.
Mendelsohn, Robert S., M.D. How to Raise A Healthy Child…In Spite of Your Doctor. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1984.
Sears, Martha, R.N. and William Sears, M.D. 25 Things Every New Mother Should Know. Boston, Massachusetts: The Harvard Common Press, 1995.
Sears, William, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. Parenting the Fussy Baby and High-Need Child – Everything You Need to Know From Birth to Age Five. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1996.
Sears, William, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. The Baby Book – Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby – From Birth to Age Two. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1993.
Sears, William, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. The Baby Video. Chariot Family Publishing, 1994.
Sears, William, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. The Complete Book of Christian Parenting and Child Care – A Medical & Moral Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Children. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997.
Sears, William, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N., The Discipline Book, Everything You Need to Know to Have a Better-Behaved Child – From Birth to Age Ten. United States: Little, Brown and Company, 1995, pp. 24,25.
Sears, William, M.D. Growing Together – A Parent’s Guide to Baby’s First Year. Franklin Park, Illinois: La Leche League International Inc., 1987.
Small, Meredith F. Our Babies, Ourselves – How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 1998.
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