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Baby Slings
Source: Peonies Baby Slings
Babywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby or child in a sling or other form of carrier. Babywearing is far from new and has been practiced for many years around the world. In the industrialized world babywearing has gained popularity, partly under influence of advocates of attachment parenting, however, not all parents who babywear consider themselves attachment parents. Babywearing is a form of baby transport.
Many sling users have found that it is easier on the back and shoulders than carrying their infant in a car seat. The weight of the child is spread more evenly across the upper body.
Slings can also be a fashion statement. They come in many different designs and colors and are available in many different types of materials, including silk, hemp, cotton, wool, fleece, and flax/linen.
Infant feeding and babywearing
Breastfeeding and babywearing often go hand in hand. Many baby slings and other carriers offer mothers privacy and for many mothers, the option of nursing hands-free while tending to other activities or household chores. Not all mothers can nurse hands-free in a baby carrier. Large-breasted mothers and mothers of small or hypotonic infants may need to support the breast or help maintain proper positioning of baby's head or body. Even so, a properly adjusted baby carrier can help reduce arm strain and allow a mother more freedom of movement while nursing, even if it does not allow her to be completely hands-free.
Babywearing can help premature babies and babies who are slow weight gainers to gain weight at a faster rate. Since the baby is held up close to the mother, the baby will be able to be nursed more often and often for longer intervals. Kangaroo care is well-studied and has shown clear benefits to premature and ill infants.
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