Babywearing Week started yesterday so I (Eva) had a quick chat Juliana Houndsfield, osteopath at The Family Practice on the Gloucester Road in Bristol about the benefits of babywearing.
Juliana is a mother of three young boys. She treats women in pregnancy as well as post-birth, and treats their babies too. Here's what she had to say about how healthy babywearing is:
Babywearing promotes successful breastfeeding
"At The Family Practice, we often see mothers with a lot of tightness between their shoulder blades. They go on to have problems with engorged breasts or problems breastfeeding.
If they are carrying their baby one-sided, they get stiff on one side which means that the drainage is not so good.
For breastfeeding mothers, it is my opinion that it is most important to keep the neck, thoracic spine, shoulders, pectoral muscles mobile.
They need to have free hands and be able to swing arms to improve the blood supply. This promotes good drainage of the breast tissue for good milk production and successful, pain-free feeding, without mastitis or blockages.
A supportive carrier balances parents
"A sling allows parents to have their arms and shoulders free. They move their whole upper body much better and do things in a balanced way.
If you cannot move your arms when you walk, everything is uneven - you cannot move symmetrically or mobilise your shoulders back and neck. Pushing a pram or carrying a car seat has the same effect. We can’t use our arms if they are holding on to a pram.
When we are holding something, we cannot swing our arms and get that even flow of blood we need. We are prone to giving ourselves little problems that can become bigger problems.
By using a sling, adults can carry their children all day if so desired. The sling helps distribute the baby's weight evenly. By keeping the baby close, the postural muscles of the body work less hard to keep you upright. The further away a baby is from your centre of gravity, the quicker you will fatigue and suffer from strain.
We see a lot of people with tight upper, mid and lower back issues after carrying car seats or from putting them on their hips (the pectoral muscles are clenched the whole time). When carrying their baby on the front or back these muscles are free to move."
Carrying your baby helps you psychologically
"Having free hands is quite important psychologically. It makes people feel like they are coping a little better. They can do so much more. When your baby is happy and on you, it makes a difference to your mental health to know that you are managing OK.
Slings are incredibly enabling. I still use my ERGObaby carrier with my three-year-old, and my Moby Wrap was fantastic when my boys were small."
Wearing your baby in the right sling promotes good growth
"If they are in a car seat, they, their spine and their muscles are still. They can move their arms and legs but not terribly much.
Osteopathy is all about movement. When a baby is in a sling, it is constantly being moved around. Muscles are being moved. A body needs movement to grow. In a car seat they aren’t moving. As they can’t move themselves they need to have it done for them which is why baby carrying in a good sling is so important.
A tight sling, like swaddling, is good for a baby. A little compression gives the baby’s muscles something to do and that’s important for growth.
Babies can’t hold their head, neck, spine and pelvic floor themselves so the sling needs to do it. It’s really important that the sling does this well.
Parent-facing in a sling benefits your baby emotionally
"When babies are in carseats, they are not being shielded from anything. They are often at fume-level of cars if in a stroller and overstimulated. It’s important to keep baby inward-facing for the same reason.
Most babies love being carried in a sling. If they aren’t comfortable it’s important to find out why. It could be because of their birth or just that you have the wrong sling.
For babies, it's important to be close to mum for those first nine months. During that time they are still part of you and need the reassurance of a heartbeat, voice and body warmth.
I feel that there are so many advantages to using a sling to carry babies and children. As long as the adult is well advised in the choice of sling and helped when first using it to make sure that the baby is held high and close enough, there should not be any discomfort."
Tomorrow on the blog, Juliana will tell us more about healthy ways to carry our babies.
Remember, we've got offers on for Babywearing Week and a giveaway on our Facebook page to win brilliant sling accessories. Happy Babywearing Week!
Love, Eva.
No comments:
Post a Comment