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There are many benefits to wearing your baby in a sling, some of which include reduced crying, more freedom for mom, and encouraging healthy attachment.
Many cultures wear their babies, but it has only been in the last couple of decades that Western cultures have taken up the practice. Studies have shown that babywearing has many benefits for infants and young children as well as for the carrying parent. Here are five of them. Babywearing is Good For Your BabyBabies who are carried often cry less. It's accepted that crying is something that babies do, and that is true to a certain extent. However, in cultures where babies are carried most the time and breastfed on demand, they cry much less. Of course, in many of these societies there are multiple family and village members available to help carry babies, but even if it’s just you and perhaps a partner at home, carrying your baby often will produce results. A 1986 randomized, controlled study by Hunziker and Barr showed that carrying an infant 2 additional hours per day reduced crying overall by 43%, or one entire hour. Babywearing is good for babies physically. According to Dr. Eckhard Bonnet in a 1998 article published on Didymos, a vertical carrying device (such as a sling), holds a baby’s body in a comfortable, correct position, much as the womb carries a fetus before birth. He also explains how upright carrying massages the infant’s abdomen, promoting healthy digestion, and notes that the physical abnormalities associated with infants who spend large amounts of time lying on their backs or bellies (such as hip dysplasia, frog legs, or flattened skulls on the back or sides) are absent in babies who are carried from birth. Babywearing encourages baby’s healthy mental and emotional development. Since in-arms parenting meets the baby’s basic needs (warmth, comfort, access to breast), babies cry less and spend more time in a quiet/alert state. While in this state they are learning about their environment and developing mentally and socially. Toddlers also enjoy being worn, and benefit from experiencing the world and others at eye-level rather than being looked down upon in a pram or stroller. Babywearing is Good For ParentsBabywearing makes parenting easier. Many sling users are parents with multiple children. This is because they find it absolutely essential to have the use of their hands to assist in the needs of older children while still being able to give their infant the warmth and closeness she craves. Many slings allow for breastfeeding. If yours is the type of baby that needs to be held during naps, doing it with a sling allows you to get some housework done, take a long walk, even put a scrapbook together at the same time. Babywearing promotes attachment. In addition to meeting the baby’s needs, babywearing allows the parents to bond with their baby and recognize and meet the baby’s needs more quickly. It is an integral part of Dr. Sears’ philosophy of Attachment Parenting, outlined in The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two published by Little, Brown 1993 (revised 2003). The baby has easier access to the breast, cries less, and is generally more content, allowing the parents to feel more confident in their parenting and have more positive feelings toward their baby. It also allows mothers who may be suffering from depression to nurture their babies with little effort. Preemies and sick infants often do remarkably well when worn, especially in the style of Kangaroo Care where the baby and parent are skin-to-skin. Types of Baby CarriersThere are many types of slings and carriers available to meet a variety of needs and fashion styles. Many families keep two or three different types on hand for different occasions (i.e. a back carrier for long walks and a nursing-friendly sling for running errands). Slings can be purchased at retail stores, but a web search will uncover more, often better, options. There are also many online groups, forums and local clubs dedicated to babywearing . A carried baby cries less and enjoys healthy physical, mental and psychological development. The parent carrying the baby gets more done while fulfilling the baby's need to be held and builds a strong attachment to the baby in the process. No matter what type of sling you choose, wearing your baby is bound to be a wonderful experience for both of you.
The copyright of the article The Benefits of Babywearing in Attachment Parenting is owned by Christy Swift. Permission to republish The Benefits of Babywearing in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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