What is babywearing? Many people want to know...what is babywearing? Babywearing is the act of carrying or wearing a baby/child in a ring sling or other carrier. While babywearing is an up and coming trend in western civilization, it isn't such a new trend for many other countries. The documented benefits of babywearing are endless.
Helps Care for Older Siblings Once the arrival of a new baby takes place many parents wonder, "How will I care for my first child and the new baby?" This can be an overwhelming task; however wearing your baby in a ring sling or other carrier can greatly reduce the stress that is involved in caring for more than one child. Imagine for a second that your newborn is crying, has already been fed, changed, burped, bathed and anything else a newborn requires. At the same time your toddler is crying, and showing signs of needing some attention. Both children need your time and unforunately you cannot be split in half! Wearing your baby in a ring sling or other carrier while playing with your toddler can accomplish everyone's needs being met.
Reduces Crying In 1983, Hunziker and Barr of the Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute conducted a study on the increased carrying of infants reducing crying. The outcome of that study is what parents have know for sometime. Infants that received "supplemental carrying" cried 43% less. The study goes on to indicate that "although constant carrying is unlikely to become the typical infant care-taking practice in our society, we hypothesized that the normal crying pattern might be changed by supplemental carrying, that is increased carrying throughout the day in addition to that which occurs during feeding. If so, such carrying might have anticipator-soothing effectiveness in normal infants and therapeutic or preventive value in relation to infant "colic"". In short, researchers are indicating that about 20% of "normal newborns" are diagnosed with colic or fussing rather than simply being carried more often. Simply stated...carry your infant more...easily achieved in a ring sling.
Increase Growth in "Failure to Thrive" Babies According to Dr. Sears, of "The Baby Book", failure to thrive babies (slow to gain weight) flourish when worn for a number of reason. First, weraing you baby, in a ring sling for example, has a calming effect, which results in less crying; therefore babies can spend energy on growing. The close proximity to mom naturally increases feeding frequency. Dr. Sears further reports that frequent feedings are a "potent stimulus for growth".
Enhances Learning/Smarter Baby Dr. Sears goes on to say that wearing your baby enhances learning/cognitive development. In "The Baby Book", Sears reports that wearing your baby, in a ring sling for example, results in decreased crying and therefore more time and energy is spent on physical growth and mental development. Babies have periods of "quiet alertness" which allows for time to take in their environment. As scenery changes, baby's brain is stimulated through the senses, such as smell, sight and sound. This constant change in environment "stimulates nerves to branch out and connect with other nerves". The developing brain then begins to store all these new experiences called "patterns of behavior". Sears also reports that speech development is enhanced through simply being at eye and voice level with others.
Conducive to Breastfeeding Many modern mothers have a difficult time breastfeeding while keeping up with a hectic pace. Whether mom is shopping, eating out, traveling, or chasing after other children, when "wearing" your baby in a ring sling for example, your baby can breastfeed at the same time with the privacy of a ring sling. According to Dr. William Sears, "Some babies breastfeed better on the move, especially those porblem suckers who need movement to organize their sucking. Tense babies and back archers often breastfeed much better in the ring sling because of the organizing effect babywearing has on their entire physiology. As the baby's whole body relaxes, so do the suck muscles." Dr Sears goes on to indicate that breastfeeding while wearing your baby helps babies with difficulty gaining weight due to the close proximity to mother, encourages more frequent feeding. Babywearing in a ring sling while breastfeeding allows mother to meet the needs of multiple children while caring for an infant, which any mother knows is very time consuming.
Written By: Sunshyne Gray LCSW
