Babywearing: What's the best way to carry your baby?

Carrying and transporting a baby is a cross-cutting and universal behavior. Culturally, there are important differences between regions. Western society has tended to import some methods. That said, many questions arise regarding the topic of babywearing. What are the advantages? From what age can it be started? Which is the best method? What precautions should be taken?

It is therefore important to clarify, through our opinion and based on the most recent literature, the answer to these questions that arise for "our" parents.

Babywearing is a way of carrying a baby close to the caregiver using slings, wraps, or even baby carriers, different from the more common method of carrying a baby in a stroller or car seat.

The moment of birth is a traumatic event for the baby, who goes from being in a calm, temperature-controlled, quiet environment, in a fetal position, as is the maternal uterus, to an environment that is completely the opposite. Thus, all strategies that allow, in some way, to recreate that same place at an early stage of life, are increasingly being studied and put to the test.

Studies conducted by (Bera, et al., 2014; Conde-Agudelo & Díaz-Rossello, 2016; Geeta Gathwala & Balhara, 2008; Lowson, Offer, Watson, McGuire, & Renfrew, 2015; WHO, 2003; Wu, Huang, & Wang, 2017) have shown the benefit of its use in newborns and premature infants, improving the relationship between caregiver and baby through skin-to-skin contact, reducing mortality and morbidity rates, promoting a better ratio in respiratory and ventilatory frequency performance, reducing the risk of hypothermia, promoting breastfeeding, increasing its prevalence and duration, improving oxygen consumption, blood glucose levels, improving sleep patterns, decreasing physiological stress, improving confidence, and decreasing crying.

This type of carrier also facilitates better communication between the caregiver and the baby, transmitting a sense of security through the caregiver's warmth and scent, making it easier to perceive the baby's needs. It is also indicated for babies with reflux, vomiting, plagiocephaly, torticollis, and colic.

In addition to the benefits for the baby, it allows caregivers greater and complete freedom of movement in their upper limbs and greater comfort when carrying the baby, improving posture with an optimal center of gravity. Furthermore, it's an excellent way to exercise.

When choosing a carrier, you should ensure it is comfortable, ergonomic, and suitable enough for the caregiver, but especially for the baby. It's also important that the baby's position is always carefully maintained, ensuring correct alignment of the head, trunk, hips (preventing and improving hip dysplasia), and knees, which is fundamental for their typical motor development. The child should be within kissing distance ☺

In short, what's essential is cuddling, comfort, contact, pampering... and anything that facilitates that is welcome!

Good cuddles,

Hugo Cruz
Specialist in Pediatric Physiotherapy and Osteopathy
FISGIOGlobal Clinic