Wraparound care for your infant: The benefits of babywearing 

Babywearing is a win-win. It keeps children safe and secure while giving parents freedom to move and a mood-boosting ‘continual hug' 

Emma Dunn with her husband Richard and 4-month-old baby Zoe near their home in Funshin More, Kinvara, Co Galway, both parents carry their daughter in a baby sling. Picture: Ray Ryan

Emma Dunn has a cherished memory of looking out the kitchen window and seeing her husband carrying their tiny daughter in a sling as he pottered round the garden.

While pregnant with Zoe, now almost five months old, Emma knew she wanted to babywear — to carry her child in a sling/baby carrier. That Richard was equally passionate about it was hugely important, particularly in the intense early weeks of breastfeeding.

“It meant I could get short breaks during the day to take a nap. That was so precious,” says Emma.

A speech and language therapist living in Kinvara, Co Galway, Emma admits feeling daunted initially by the number of diverse baby slings and carriers. “My sister babywears with her two boys. I’ve a friend who babywears. Both raved that it made life so much easier as a new parent. I really wanted to do it but felt a bit daunted by the plethora of slings and carriers. I didn’t know where to start.”

With the help of a babywear consultant, the couple chose carriers that suited them individually. Richard loves the ring sling, a long piece of woven fabric with two metal rings on one end for closing, while Emma’s go-to is a soft structured carrier. “It’s a soft cotton material with buckles, which gives me reassurance Zoe’s securely attached to my body.”

With the couple’s close family members all living far away, babywearing has made not having practical family support nearby much less impactful than it might be. “I can have Zoe close with me everywhere I go. Yet my hands are free, so I can get on with my day knowing she’s safe and secure. I can make myself a cup of tea, have a snack.

“She naps easily in the carrier so we have naps on the go, whenever she wants to sleep. I don’t have to time my day around them. She could be napping while I’m doing the laundry.

“And I don’t have to lug the buggy in and out of places. She’s a bit of a Velcro baby — she just wants to be close and held, and the sling allows me do that without being stuck to the couch or the one room.”

Amid all her new-mum purchases, Emma says she couldn’t do without the sling. “I had to wash it recently. I was lost for 24 hours, not having it. Zoe was definitely harder to entertain. It has become part of us, so very natural,” says Emma, who’ll babywear for as long as Zoe’s happy to do it.

Babywearing has made not having practical family support nearby much less impactful for Emma and Richard. Picture: Ray Ryan

Sling meets

Donna Leavy is secretary of Babywearing Ireland, a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers, who peer-support other parents wanting to babywear. Babies are generally ‘worn’ anytime from day one right through toddlerhood. Leavy runs the Longford Sling Library — once a month she loads her suitcase of slings into her car and holds a two-hour sling meet in her local community centre.

The sling meet allows parents — 90% attending are mums — to learn about different sling types and see them demonstrated. Aside from ring slings and soft structured carriers, there are stretchy wraps, woven wraps and Mei Tai-style carriers. All have distinguishing features and advantages, so for parents it comes down to personal, individual choice around which best suits their needs/their baby.

“If they see a sling they like, they can try it on. They can also rent it for a month to further try it out,” says Leavy, who sees the occasional dad attend — particularly of very young babies — as well as grandparents eager to carry grandkids.

Nationwide, Ireland has 14 active sling libraries — the national sling library is Kerry-based — and about 60 volunteers. Leavy sees babywearing “growing steadily in popularity”. Uptake of sling rentals from the national library “skyrocketed” during the pandemic, almost doubling from 178 requests in 2019 to 345 in 2020, while 2021 saw 376 requests.

Leavy says babywearing mums felt they and their child were better protected from Covid when baby was close to them, in their own little bubble — it helped avoid well-meant caresses babies attract. “People are less likely to pick up an infant or rub its cheek if it’s in the mother’s personal space.”

Galway-based Olwen Rowe is a certified babywearing consultant and licensed trainer with Die Trageschule

Parenting tool

Leavy has heard parents express concerns — prior to babywearing — ranging from ‘will it make my baby clingy’ to ‘will s/he be reluctant to walk’. A mum of five, she discovered babywearing on her fourth child. It has been an invaluable parenting tool.

“When my youngest was two days old, his blood sugar and temperature were low. There was talk of placing him in an incubator. Luckily I’d packed my ring sling in my hospital bag, and they were open to me trying babywearing to improve his temperature. It worked — I was able to help regulate it.”

Her youngest two are autistic and she has found babywearing a great addition for children with neurodiversity. “Slings give a feeling of being held securely. Vestibular movements while a parent rocks or sways can be very comforting and regulating.”

A study highlighted by the American Academy of Pediatrics found infants who were carried cried 43% less. A New York study on whether infant-carrying promotes attachment found possible “causal relation between increased physical contact, achieved through early carrying in a soft baby carrier, and subsequent security of attachment between infant and mother” (exa.mn/Infant-Attachment).

Galway-based Olwen Rowe is a certified babywearing consultant and licensed trainer with Die Trageschule, an international network of babywearing consultants, begun in Germany in 1998. Teaching content of courses/training is based on scientifically recognised research in biology, medicine, and psychology.

Rowe works one-to-one and in groups with parents, and also trains healthcare providers, for example, doulas and physiotherapists. “I train in how to translate infant physiology into positioning and safety in the sling. For a baby, safety and positioning go hand-in-hand,” she says, citing three essential aspects to watch for.

“Baby has to be secure, both while being put into the sling and when they’re actually in it, so there’s no fall risk. Their airways have to be clear, and they have to be at a safe temperature because they can’t regulate their own temperature. For example, we advise against using a snowsuit when baby is in a sling — they get too hot.”

Rowe describes the easiest way of keeping baby safe in their sling: “Ensure their chin is off their own chest and that they’re upright, resting high and snug against the parent. Baby’s head should rest against the flat, hard part of parent’s chest, above the breasts or chest tissue.”

This high, ‘close enough to kiss’ position also dovetails with what’s most comfortable for a parent, Rowe explains. “It means baby’s weight is going into the parent’s centre of gravity and down their hip; much safer because carrying baby low or loose increases risk of lower back injury for parents.”

Spread squat position

Babywearing in an ergonomic carrier facilitates the baby’s spread squat position, recommended for good hip development. “Baby’s legs are open, knees are up at level of their belly button, bum is down and the lower leg from knee down is free to move. This really protects baby’s hip health,” says Rowe, adding that this dovetailing of baby and parental needs happens a lot with babywearing.

“Carrying baby in a sling is a very practical intervention, allowing parents have contact with their baby while they’re moving — because parents need to move and babies benefit from moving. There’s this beautiful dovetailing of both sets of needs.”

Rowe quotes what clinical psychologist and author Mia Scotland says about babywearing benefits for mums. Scotland described babywearing her third child as “a million miles away from putting him down on a mat with dangling toys and listening out for him, frantically hoping he’d last long enough for me to wash some potatoes”.

In her book, Why Perinatal Depression Matters, Scotland says there is anecdotal evidence suggesting babywearing wards off anxiety/depression in mothers. “Essentially, you get a continual hug from your baby (feels lovely), while you get on with things (what a relief), knowing your baby is happy with you (no need to worry or go check on them).”

Rowe sums it up: “Holding babies holds them together.” And therefore parents too.

• Babywearing Ireland is seeking new volunteers. Contact through babywearingireland.ie, or facebook.com/babywearingireland or email secretarybabywearingireland@gmail.