Babywearing Benefits for Baby!

Babies who are worn:

• Cry Less! Up to 51% less crying
• Eat Better! They have an increase in the frequency and duration of the breastfeeding relationship
• Sleep More! The caregiver’s contact and movements improves their sleep
• Are Healthier! They have less reflux, fewer ear infections, and lower incidence of hip dysplasia
• Are Stronger! Their time in the carrier gives them more opportunities to build strength and sense of balance
• Learn Faster! They are closer to people allowing them to study facial expressions, learn language faster, and be more familiar with body language

Carrying Your Baby:

• Provides motion beneficial to neural, gastrointestinal, and respiratory health
• Aids in establishing balance through inner ear development
• Regulates body temperature
• Meets their primal needs - Caregivers can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, tasted and provide feeding on demand
• Parental rhythms (walking, heartbeat, etc.) can have a balancing and soothing effect on infants
• Reduces Stress Reactions - babies deal with pain better and cry less in response to pain
• Decreases risk of positional plagiocephaly (“flat head syndrome”) - caused by extended time spent in a car seat, containers (strollers, swings, etc) and by sleeping on the back.. Infants can be worn while they sleep (while caregiver is awake), further reducing time spent laying on their backs
• Builds a more secure attachment between you and your baby
• And so much more!

Babywearing Benefits You!

Wearing your baby:

• Increases oxytocin! The “love hormone” nurtures your bond with baby and decreases risk for postpartum mood disorders in mothers
• Increases sleep! Babies who are worn typically sleep better which means more rest for you.
• Frees your hands! Your hands are free for other tasks or children.
• Improves your health! Weight bearing exercise improves bone density
• Saves your hips and knees! Babywearing reduces the load on the hips and knees when compared to in arms carrying 

References

1. Urs A. Hunziker, Ronald G. Barr; Increased Carrying Reduces Infant Crying: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics May 1986; 77 (5): 641–648. 10.1542/peds.77.5.641
2. Pisacane A, Continisio P, Filosa C, Tagliamonte V, Continisio GI. Use of baby carriers to increase breastfeeding duration among term infants: the effects of an educational intervention in Italy. Acta Paediatr. 2012 Oct;101(10):e434-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2012.02758.x. Epub 2012 Jul 16. PMID: 22734604.
3. Morgan BE, Horn AR, Bergman NJ. Should neonates sleep alone? Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Nov 1;70(9):817-25. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.06.018. Epub 2011 Jul 29. PMID: 21802659.
4. Williams LR, Turner PR. Infant carrying as a tool to promote secure attachments in young mothers: Comparing intervention and control infants during the still-face paradigm. Infant Behav Dev. 2020 Feb;58:101413. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101413. Epub 2019 Dec 24. PMID: 31877392.
5. Schön, & Silvén, Maarit. (2007). Schön, R. A., & Silvén, M. (2007). Natural parenting - Back to basics in infant care. Evolutionary Psychology, 5, 102-183.. Evolutionary Psychology.
6. Siddicky SF, Bumpass DB, Krishnan A, Tackett SA, McCarthy RE, Mannen EM. Positioning and baby devices impact infant spinal muscle activity. J Biomech. 2020 May 7;104:109741. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.109741. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32178849; PMCID: PMC7188598.
7. Mireault GC, Rainville BS, Laughlin B. Push or Carry? Pragmatic Opportunities for Language Development in Strollers vs. Backpacks. Infancy. 2018 Jul-Aug;23(4):616-624. doi: 10.1111/infa.12238. Epub 2018 Apr 16. PMID: 30220884; PMCID: PMC6135260.
8. Williams L, Standifird T, Madsen M. Effects of infant transportation on lower extremity joint moments: Baby carrier versus carrying in-arms. Gait Posture. 2019 May;70:168-174. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.02.004. Epub 2019 Mar 8. PMID: 30877855.
9. Henrik N, Charles P, Raylene P, Joanna M. Babywearing Practices and Effects on Parental, Child Physical and Psychological Health. Acad J Ped Neonatol 2022; 11(5): 555876. DOI: 10.19080/AJPN.2022.11.555876
10. Johnston C, Campbell-Yeo M, Disher T, Benoit B, Fernandes A, Streiner D, Inglis D, Zee R. Skin-to-skin care for procedural pain in neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Feb 16;2(2):CD008435. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008435.pub3. PMID: 28205208; PMCID: PMC6464258.