Babywearing Benefits

The Center for Babywearing Studies

Babywearing International

Babywearing benefits: For Caregivers with Perinatal Mood or Anxiety Disorders

Babywearing increases a caregiver's confidence in their ability to care for their child. 

Babywearing allows a caregiver to care for their baby while attending to the daily tasks of living. With a baby comfortably and securely held in a soft baby carrier, a caregiver has both hands free to prepare food, perform household tasks, or care for older siblings - all while meeting the baby's needs. 

Babywearing promotes bonding between caregivers and infants. In one study, one group of mothers was given soft baby carriers when their children were born, and another were given plastic infant seats. At 13 months of age, the children of the mothers who were given soft infant carriers were found to have a secure emotional attachment to their mothers in 82% of cases, compared to 38% in the control group. 

Babywearing helps caregivers cope with the stress of raising a special needs infant. Kangaroo mother care, a neonatal intensive care practice featuring skin to skin contact, has been demonstrated to positively impact a mother's perception of an infant requiring NICU care, to increase her confidence in caring for her infant, and to increase her sensitivity to her baby's cues. 

Babywearing significantly reduces infant crying. In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers found that babywearing for three hours per day reduced infant crying by 43%. Less crying means less stress for the caregiver. Babywearing helps infants fall asleep more easily and sleep longer, both of which also reduce the caregiver's stress.

Babywearing helps satisfy the baby's need for human interaction. Human touch, which is facilitated through babywearing, reduces the baby's need for eye contact and verbal interaction, both of which can be a struggle for caregivers suffering from depression. In a study looking at the effects of touch on infants of depressed mothers, researchers found that infants being cared for by an unresponsive parent could cope more effectively with stress while in physical contact with their parents. Babywearing is one way in which caregivers who suffer from depression can increase positive interactions with their children and minimize negative effects of their illness on their children.