Imagine this: You’re nestled comfortably in your bed for a nice, long nap, cushioned by big pillows and a warm, fluffy comforter. Now imagine being suddenly snatched out of bed and laid on your back on the hard floor.
Feels cold, uncomfortable, and lonely, doesn’t it?
Now imagine how it feels for babies to go straight from the comfortable womb—the only home they’ve ever known—into cribs, car seats, and strollers. Not a very gentle transition into the world, is it? But parents and babies can take heart: Baby carriers and baby wraps provide a warmer welcome to life outside the womb.
Baby Wraps and Baby Carriers Ease Newborns’ Transition
If we want to help our babies adjust comfortably and securely to their new world, we only have to replicate some aspects of their pre-birth environment. In the womb, babies are in the fetal position. Once they’re born, that’s the position they naturally trend toward. And not just because it’s more comfortable—it’s better for them, too.
Baby carriers that are easy and safe to use with newborns, like the Boba Carrier make it simple to keep babies in the ideal position while providing them the closeness and comfort they crave.
Hip Health in Baby Carriers
It takes several months before babies’ hips are ready to be stretched out, according to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. If they’re forced into a stretched-out position too early (as in front-facing carriers or tight swaddles, for instance) the hip joint is at risk of being permanently deformed or becoming dislocated.
Until babies are around 10 pounds, their hips and knees should be kept bent in a frog-like position. This protects baby’s delicate hips and allows them to develop normally. After they reach 10 pounds, you can start allowing their legs to straddle you. But you still don’t want them dangling by their pelvis, as with forward-facing baby carriers.
More Health Benefits of Babywearing for Newborns
There are countless reasons to wear your new baby in a baby wrap or baby carrier. Here are just a few:
- Keeps baby warm. When held tummy to tummy, baby has mom or dad’s heat to help regulate his own temperature. Plus, since their backsides have more fat cells than their front sides, facing inward keeps their more vulnerable, heat-seeping side protected.
- Prevents reflux and ear infections. We all know that spending more time upright helps with reflux, but did you know it also prevents gastric fluids from collecting in the ears and causing ear infections?
- Prevents flat head. Spending too much time on their backs flattens babies’ malleable skulls. Which means they need to wear special helmets to reshape them. Wouldn’t it be easier (and more loving) to wear them instead?
Babywearing Fulfills Baby’s Need for Touch
Beyond the health benefits, baby carriers like those from Boba Family simply make sense from an evolutionary standpoint.
From hunter-gatherer times, babies’ brains have been hardwired to expect to be close to their caregivers. It fosters their psychological, physical, and mental growth—and lets them know they are safe and loved. As Dr. Sharon Heller writes in her book The Vital Touch, “Touch is not an emotional fringe benefit. It’s as necessary as the air we breathe.”
