October 05, 2022
9 reasons why baby wearing is healthy for your baby and yourself
Most babies calm down when they are carried around, feeling skin contact and smelling their mother's.That's understandable if they knew exactly this and nothing else for months 24/7 while their mom was pregnant with them.“Babies want to be carried!” You may be familiar with this sentence, and yes, in many cultures, carrying the child is still the only way to walk a path together. In this blog post you will find out what health benefits you and your baby have from a baby carrier and what you should pay attention to in order to promote your physical health as well.
1. Healthy hip development
With the invention of the stroller, hip deformities in children increased. The acetabular cup is not yet fully developed in newborns, and it has been proven that lying down with stretched legs for a long time leads to hip dislocation and dysplasia (malformations of the acetabular cup). Babies know what's good for them and reflexively pull their little legs in, bringing them into a crouching position when they're lifted. You are preparing for the hip seat - the position that the baby adopts in a baby carrier.This so-called spread-squat position can help to prevent or even treat hip misalignments.
2. Healthy spine
After birth, the baby's spine is still rounded. It stretches from top to bottom during the first year of life. For this development step, however, a slow build-up of muscles is required. Until then, it makes sense to support the rounding of the spine in order not to overload the baby's sensitive vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. By sitting in a spread-squat position, the child's pelvis is tilted slightly forward, thereby rounding the spine. A hollow back position must be avoided at all costs!
3. Building of trust
The baby grows in the womb for nine months. With birth, this deep connection is broken and he encounters many new stimuli every day that can quickly overwhelm him. By being carried in a baby carrier, the closeness to the mother, with her familiar voice, warmth and smell can give a lot of security and continue the connection. A trust of security and love develops, which promotes the basic trust from which it will grow for life.
4. Strong mother-child interaction
Due to the close contact with the baby in the carrier, the mother not only hears the baby's noises, but can also recognize the signals of her child early on in a holistic, multi-sensory manner. For example, small restless movements or soft sounds can be perceived and the mother can react to them. A communication between mother and child develops, which strengthens the bond between mother and child and offers the baby security.
5. Promotion of motor development
The baby doesn't just sit around passively in the baby carrier. Even small movements by the mother mean that the baby has to make compensating movements in the carrier. This strengthens the baby's muscles and sense of balance. The changing movements always give new impulses, so that different muscles have to be activated.
6. Less cases of colic
Many babies suffer from intestinal colic, especially in the first months of life. It is assumed that the insufficient development of the gastrointestinal tract contributes to this. The angled position of the legs in the baby carrier relaxes the stomach and allows gases to escape from the intestines more easily. The body heat on the baby's tummy can also relieve the pain.
7. Baby Wearing is gentle on the body
The heavier the baby becomes, the harder it is for the mother to carry the child. While the body is placed in less ergonomic positions when carrying the baby in the arm or in the baby seat, which can lead to tension and pain in the long term, the baby carrier distributes the baby's weight evenly over the body. This counteracts one-sided loads on the hips or shoulders.
8. Mental health support
It is known that 10-15% of all women suffer from postpartum depression after childbirth. This is often accompanied by a disturbed mother-child relationship. The mothers are often aware of this and also suffer from a guilty conscience. Accompanying a treatment, you can give your child the physical closeness it needs by carrying the baby in the baby carrier.
9. Physical fitness
After giving birth, many women look forward to becoming more physically active and playing sports again. Not always possible with a baby. Carrying the child in the baby carrier can increase physical fitness. Important: The middle of the body should be sufficiently strengthened beforehand. See our tips for healthy carrying!
Our tips for healthy carrying:
- In the early confinement you should avoid carrying in a baby carrier in order not to disturb the wound healing of the uterus and birth injuries. You should also give your pelvic floor this time to regenerate.
- Respect your physical limits! Do you feel a strange sensation in your abdomen, do you leak urine when you walk or do you feel pain when you carry it? Then you should definitely shift down a gear and recognize this as a warning sign from your body.
- Relieve your pelvic floor after wearing it for a long time. Your pelvic floor maintains a basic tension while you are wearing it. In order to avoid tension in the pelvic floor, you should allow it to relax after longer periods of wearing it. Elevate your pelvis to do this.
- Tie the baby carrier sufficiently tight to your body. In this way you can create an upright posture for your body and have a better connection to your pelvic floor. The diaphragm and the pelvic floor can work together and relieve each other.
- Keep your center of gravity central. When your baby sits in the carrier at "head-kiss height", you create the best possible relief for your back and pelvic floor.
- If your child is heavier, carry it more often on your back. In this way you create a better posture and thus the prerequisite for the interaction of the pelvic floor with the diaphragm.