Hi Nikki,

I think that you are absolutely on the right track here. The allusion to
positioning in car seats was one that I thought of immediately and have
actually worried about for a while, though I admit to never raising the
issue publicly. Most carrying models that I have seen in photographs and
video of indigenous peoples do indeed keep the baby/child upright and
tightly clasped to the mother's body.

As with so many practices, the explosion of many different models of
baby-carriers was not accompanied by any kind of scientific study. Only over
time, as more and more folks use these devices, can they be more accurately
evaluated as for safety as well as convenience.

Of course, history predicts that there will be a sudden call for the banning
of baby carriers, irregardless of the size, age or physical challenges of
individual babies.

And as history also shows, mothers will continue to do what they must to
provide for the needs of their families. I think that most mothers will
welcome information that may help to keep their children healthy and that
most will recognize if their babies fall into a category for which certain
models of carriers might not be safe, or not safe at a particular stage of
their life.  Of course, just as is the case with co-sleeping, there will be
some families where there is not the ability or the motivation to be
educated about these issues. No society can guarantee complete safety for
all its citizens 100% of the time.

Sharon Knorr, IBCLC, NY



On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 7:34 AM, Nikki Lee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear Friends:
>
> My 3rd post of the day before 7:30 AM!  You all better not write anything
> very interesting or stimulating until tomorrow....;-)
>
> Mothers have carried babies forever because women had to work, needed their
> hands free,and their babies had to breastfeed.
>
> It would be interesting to look at the carriers from other cultures and see
> the differences between the old traditional ways of wearing a baby and all
> the new-fangled devices today with straps and things that go click and
> different positions. Several doulas in a Breastfeeding Basics class taught
> us how to make a baby carrier using a 4 foot long (and 22 inch wide) piece
> of cloth, so we can teach mothers this ancient art without having to spend
> a
> lot of money.
>
> Do traditional slings carry babies in a more splayed out position, where
> the
> baby's body is fully applied to the mother's torso, instead of the baby
> being all curled up in a hammock? Don't traditional slings wrap tightly
> around the baby, holding it fully applied to the mother's torso? Isn't that
> the principle behind the kangaroo carriers, where baby is also held in an
> upright position? (Thank you Dr. Bergman!)
>
> I wonder too, about premature babies. (Thank you Teresa for sharing that
> terrifying story with us, and blessings to the powers that be or to luck
>  for having both a NICU nurse and an ambulance close by.)  When they are
> carried in slings the way term infants are carried, can they sustain their
> basic functions as well?
>
> Do babies born before 40 weeks gestation need sling tests as well as car
> seat tests? As with car seats and adult beds, it isn't the babies that are
> the problem. The problem is the new inventions that are designed for adult
> convenience in an industrial age.
>
> I wonder if that is a key difference. What do you all think?
>
> warmly,
>
>
> Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI
> craniosacral therapy practitioner
> www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com
>
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