Ask The Doctor

Dear Silvia
I urge you to consider carrying your baby in a front or back carrier for a substantial part of the day. The constant motion and touch has beneficial effects on the neurological and emotional development of the baby. In much of the rest of the world, babies are always carried or worn in a sling all day until they can walk. In industrialized western cultures, parents have been conditioned to believe that babies need to be carried or pushed in beby equipment like car seats and strollers. Babies who are held and carried all the time and have their need for touch met in their first year cry much less and they grow to become happier, more intelligent, more independent, more loving and more social than babies who spend much of their infancy in infant seats, swings, cribs, and all the other plastic baby-holding devices that don't provide babies with human contact.

Infants can be worn while they sleep, and also can be breastfed comfortably. It is true that proper position in the sling/carrier is important for the infant's hip, pelvis and spine growth. A carrier should not put all of a baby's weight on a narrow band of fabric at the crotch. Carriers such as the Ergo appropriately disperse most of the infant's weight between the hips and thighs.

There are so many baby carriers available on the market today it can be quite confusing for parents to decide on one particular type. Some important issues are that the carrier design offer various carrying positions for the baby and the wearer (front, sides and back), and that the child's growth and postural development are accommodated.

Front/back babycarriers are made for simple front or back carry, baby facing in or out. They are worn over both shoulders, thus distributing the weight of the baby Only front carriers are suitable for newborns.

Soft carriers are easy to use, are suitable for beginners, and these are usually the ones that modern western parents most associate with baby carriers. More structured ones may have buckles and padded straps as well as shaped sitting/baby carrying part. It is possible to breastfeed in front positions. An example of soft structured carrier is ERGO. The ERGO enables parents to purchase one carrier for all their needs from infant to toddler and it can be worn on the front, back and hip positions.

The ERGO was specifically designed in support of Attachment Parenting International's Ideals of Baby Wearing

• Babywearing helps satisfy the baby's need for closeness, touch and affection.
• Babywearing promotes and strengthens parent's emotional bond with their baby.
• The movement that naturally results from carrying your baby stimulates their neurological development
• Babies cry less when worn or held.
• Holding helps regulate their temperature and heart rate.
• Baby feels more secure. Babywearing facilitates easy outings and travel.

You can find more information about carrying on my website. Good luck.

Susan Markel, M.D.
“peaceful parenting for a peaceful world”

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Dr. Susan Markel, MD, is a Board Certified Pediatrician, and Attachment Parenting Advisor. She is also the author of, "Ask The Doctor," in partnership with ERGObaby. If you have additional questions, please feel free to visit her website at http://www.AttachmentParentingDoctor.com and request a private consultation.