Babywearing Science: Health, Cognitive, and Emotional Benefits for Baby and Mama
Summary: Babywearing can provide numerous benefits for both parents and infants, from enhancing maternal responsiveness to supporting breastfeeding. This post explores various research findings and experiential insights that highlight how babywearing can positively impact parenting.
Introduction Babywearing is such a powerful tool. In one study, researchers gave at-risk families a babywearing intervention. Within three months, they observed that parents were more responsive to their infant’s cues, and the babies were more likely to develop a secure attachment by their first birthday.
Hey mamas, welcome to Modern Nurture where mothers meet at the intersection of instincts and evidence. I'm your host, Jess. Today, we are diving into the fascinating world of babywearing. I'll be sharing some interesting research and insights about how babywearing benefits both you and your little one.
Before I get started, I want to take a minute to say that this post is in no way judging anyone who has not or does not like to babywear. You can be a great responsive mother without wearing your baby. Every family is different, every baby is different, so it's all about doing what works for you. So let's get into it.
What is Babywearing? Most of you are probably familiar with what babywearing is: it’s carrying your baby around in a sling, wrap, or some device that allows you to hook your baby to you while you use your hands and go about your daily life.
Benefits of Babywearing
Maternal Responsiveness Research involving mother-infant pairs observed that mothers who practiced babywearing were much more likely to respond quickly and appropriately to their baby's signals compared to mothers who didn’t. This means they were better at picking up on cues and responding in ways that soothed and engaged their babies.
Parenting Beliefs & Tactile Interaction A larger study with 492 mothers showed that those who wore their babies consistently valued responsiveness and engagement more. Tactile interaction is critical for bonding and social development, and babywearing promotes more physical contact with the baby.
Reduces Crying Research by Huntsiger and Barr found that infants who were carried more cried less. Specifically, these infants cried 43% less overall and 51% less during the evening hours compared to those who weren’t carried as much.
Supports Breastfeeding Babywearing promotes keeping your baby close, allowing you to better understand their hunger cues. Studies show that mothers who carried their babies for at least an hour a day had significantly higher breastfeeding rates at three and five months, and were more likely to still be breastfeeding at six months.
Health Benefits Properly carrying your baby helps prevent spinal and cranial deprivations, such as squaring off of the cranium and issues with the spinal cord and postural muscles. Babywearing also promotes better regulation of physical functions, reduces reflux symptoms, and supports neural development, social and emotional development, and overall cognitive development.
Benefits for Preterm Infants Preterm infants whose mothers practiced kangaroo care (skin-to-skin and babywearing) grew more and gained more weight than those whose mothers did not.
Mental Health Benefits Close contact can promote oxytocin and help reduce postpartum depression. It can also increase a mother's confidence by helping her learn and respond to her baby's cues more effectively.
Convenience and Travel Babywearing keeps your hands free for tasks like dishes or shopping and is hugely beneficial for travel. It also allows you to interact with older kids while caring for your baby. However, it does increase the metabolic cost by about 500 calories per day.
Conclusion Babywearing offers a myriad of benefits but can also be tiring. I’d love to dig into the best baby carriers for different stages in future posts to help you make informed decisions. Please comment "carrier video" below if you’re interested.
Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your time. I know you're all busy mamas. See you next time.
StudiesMentioned
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016363831830256X#:~:text=In%20Study%203%20
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30188302/
If you liked this, you’ll love my unconventional take on tummy time! https://youtu.be/ByF09LUxT4w
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