Titled :
Why I’d Never Put My Baby In A Baby Bjorn Carrier
Link: http://megganmamma.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/why-id-never-put-my-baby-in-a-baby-bjorn-carrier/Article extract:
...included the diagrams below showing which style of baby carriers could cause hip dislocation in your baby (left) and which style of carrier is safe for your baby’s developing hips (right). Arg! What mum wouldn’t want to avoid that! Of course they’re not allowed to mention brand names at those events, but the style they were warning against were identical to the Baby Bjorn and Stokke carriers. I was relieved that we’d only worn Joshi in the hugabub wrap and then the ergo baby carrier, because they were both aligned with what she was suggesting were healthy for your baby’s hips.
I must just add here, that I’ve just loved, loved, loved wearing Joshi over the last 16 months, so much so that we’ve literally only used the stroller less than 10 times since his birth. (Yes, the expensive ‘must have’ stroller that’s currently gathering dust in our storeroom). I’ve loved it so much I’d go so far as to say that the ergo baby carrier has been the best and most useful baby thing we’ve ever bought. Anyway, here are a few things I learned from Dr Harrington about baby carrying which I thought would be worth sharing with you:
If Your Baby’s Under 6 Months Old, Don’t Wear Him/Her Facing Outwards: This is a message that’s made it into the news recently - Forward carriers put baby in danger. Here’s why …
- The dangling legs of a baby who’s facing outwards may stretch their developing hip joints and increase their risk of hip dysplasia.
- When you wear your baby outwards it shifts their weight distribution from their bottom onto their crotch/testicles/pubic symphysis. Imagine how you’d feel if you were sitting with all that pressure on your privates. ”The sitting bones are strong with lots of padding - designed perfectly for weight-bearing, whereas the pubic symphysis and testicles aren’t,” says Dr Harrington.
- Outward facing has the potential to interfere with normal spinal curve development by flattening out the backward kyphotic curve. ”An absence of normal spinal curves reduces the strength and flexibility development of the spine for life; and can delay normal milestone development,” says Harrington.
One Of The Advantages Of Facing Your Baby Inwards: Of course a really great advantage of wearing your baby facing inwards is that they can snuggle into you to seek reassurance from you and switch off from the surrounding world if they want to – something they can’t do when facing outwards. As an adult when we’ve had enough of all the stimulation on a busy street we can just go somewhere else. Imagine how much more intense the stimulation of a busy street is for a baby and how full on it must feel for them if they’re strapped into this outward facing position they can’t get out of. When I see babies facing outwards in a busy environment (like a busy shopping mall or street) I often wonder whether there’ll be an extra big stress-release-cry for mum and dad to deal with later.
Always Make Sure Your Baby’s Knees Are Higher Than Their Hips:Irrespective of your child’s age, avoid carriers that let their legs dangle downwards. (I can’t help but imagine how uncomfortable I’d be being carried around like that rather than in a comfy, more natural piggy-back position). Your baby’s support has to extend all the way from their bum, along their thighs to the back of their knees.
Get A Carrier that Gives You Good Back Support: The carriers that don’t support the back of the person carrying the baby are those where the straps are quite high on the back and where there’s not much support around the hips. One of the reasons I’ve loved the ergo carrier is because I’ve felt that my back has been supported by its wide, think hip band. If your carrier doesn’t support your back properly you’re likely to end up with back pain, so you really need to get a carrier that checks all the ticks for you as well as for your baby.
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