What is Babywearing and is it for you?

Babywearing in India has started gaining momentum in the past few years and you must be seeing baby carriers with all new parents.

Babywearing simply means the practice of carrying or holding baby close to your body with the help of a fabric or a structured carrier. This practice has been around for centuries across the world helping parents multi task and deal with parenting challenges. Recently in the past few years, you must have seen a lot of babywearing parents out and about as work gets more flexible and it becomes easier for parents to travel with work and baby in tow. 

Want to learn more ? Let us break down the basics of babywearing your newborns with one of the best products for baby in recent times. 

Babywearing as we know it now, gets much of its inspiration from these researches and studies on Kangaroo Care and helps parents bond better with babies in every which way possible. 

Research shows that Kangaroo care is one of the best forms of soothing a newborn soon after delivery. Kangaroo care is a medical practice of involving skin to skin contact shortly after birth. Baby is placed upright on a parents bare chest which comforts a newborn in many ways. This method shows proven benefits for babies that are premature or are of low birth weight. All of the benefits are also pertinent for full term babies just as much. Studies with full term infants show that this also regulates heart and breathing rates, body temperature and improves brain development. Holding babies closer to your body facilitates better sleep, decreased crying and fussiness, longer nap times and a better sense of social awareness in the longer run.

Perfect happy moments everytime with our carrier. Learn more

Wearing a baby on your body, ergonomically serves as a comfortable arrangement for both parent and baby as the parent knows their infant is safe and comfortable nearest to them, while the infant is soothed with the parents warm touch. 

Dr. William Sears, a renowned pediatrician, coined the phrase attachment parenting. One of Sears’ principles of attachment parenting is primarily linked to  babywearing as a practice and he links many benefits to babywearing and holding babies in arms which is the most common practice across India and much of the western world.

According to him, benefits of babywearing include:

• The bonding between baby and caregiver is more attached
• Babies who are carried are considerably calmer as their primary needs of being held and touched are met.
• Regular feeding and movement necessary for natural neural development, gastrointestinal and respiratory health and muscle growth is consistent.
• The mother’s happy hormones – Oxytocins are increased just by the constant physical contact with the baby resulting in a deeper attachment with baby’s needs. This also lowers incidences of postpartum depression (PPD).
• Being closer to the breast results in easier breastfeeding and increased mik supply in the mother’s body.
• The parents body can help regulate an infant’s heart and breathing rates
• Babies learn social cues like facial expressions, languages and behaviors, faster and easier due to the proximity to their parents face.
• Wearing babies also decreases risk of positional plagiocephaly (“flat head syndrome”) mainly caused by consistent periods of laying flat on the back.

With so many advantages attached to wearing your baby, choosing the right carrier and knowing about the best practices can get a bit overwhelming for new parents. However, in the next few articles, we will help you manoeuver this and break down all things baby wearing to help you choose the best baby carrier for you and your little one which would be safe, comfortable and convenient at the same time.

There are 7 different types of baby carrier which are found around the world.

• Soft structured baby carrier has a padded structure and buckle fastenings.

Woven Wrap which is made of soft woven fabric, typically more than 5 metres and needs to be wrapped around your body.

• Stretchy Wrap which is made of flexible and stretchable Cotton Spandex Knit which is wrapped around your body, similar to the woven wrap.
• Mei Dai is a soft bodied carrier with wide fabric Belts for tying the main panel across your body. 
• A ring sling is a 2.5 metre length of soft fabric with 2 aluminium rings secured at one end and the other free end needs to be looped through. This is an extremely portable and versatile baby carrier.
• A backpack carrier with a metal frame to seat your baby and carry her on your back. This is a bulky carrier and takes up a lot of space for storage. 
• Pouch sling is made up of a fabric stitched in a constructed pouch design that sits diagonally across the body. This carrier is not advised by babywearing educators due to health safety.

Different types of baby carriers available in India

Most of these carriers are adjustable and come with their own functionality and USP’s. In our following blog posts, we will explain all of these in details and you can then deciede the type of baby carrier you may want to choose keeping in mind, your lifestyle, your location and your need. If you need to buy a baby carrier in a hurry, feel free to call or drop a watsapp msg on the Cookiie Baby customer support number on +91 9820464558. We would love to have a conversation about you and your baby to figure which carrier is best for you.