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About babywearing
Babies are meant to be carried. We are born with reflexes which help us to hold on to our parents. Babywearing, the practice of carrying your baby or young child in a sling or other soft carrier, is an extension of this instinctive act. This practice has a long tradition across many different cultures, balancing an intuitive understanding that babies need to be held with the practical need for parents to have their hands free.
Today we are rediscovering that, quite simply, babywearing makes life easier by meeting everyone’s needs. Busy parents are free to get on with their daily lives while babies are held safe and secure, soothed by the movement and warmth of their parents’ bodies.
The benefits of babywearing
Research supports the instinctive understanding that children need to be held.
> Babies who are carried cry less - up to 51% according to studies - and have decreased levels of stress hormone in their blood streams.
> Carried babies have a more regular respiratory rate, heart rate and a more stable body temperature.
> Being carried improves sleep patterns, with babies falling asleep more quickly, more soundly and for longer periods.
> Baby wearing improves infants’ digestion and has been shown to reduce the symptoms of colic and reflux.
> Carrying babies improves their motor skills by stimulating their vestibular system which is important for balance and promotes muscular development.
> Babies who are held nurse better and gain weight better.
> Babywearing improves parent-baby bonding, allowing parents to be more aware and responsive to their baby’s needs. Babywearing can even reduce the risk of postnatal depression.
> Carried babies are held at the height of adult interaction and activity which promotes cognitive and language development.
> Baby wearing helps mothers to strengthen muscles and ligaments which have been stretched or weakened by pregnancy.
If you are interested in finding out more about the benefits of babywearing check out the links page.
