Below we've included some excerpts on recent sling research that discusses the benefits for your child's development.
As always, if you need help with your sling or finding the proper size - call us! 1800-663-8605.
Happy Babywearing!
HOLD ME CLOSE:
ENCOURAGING ESSENTIAL MOTHER/BABY PHYSICAL CONTACT
Maria Blois, MD
safety has been adequately
demonstrated for all types of holding (kangaroo
care, in-arms and in a sling). There is strong
evidence to support the use of kangaroo care for
preterm babies with benefits that include
shortened hospital stay, decreased morbidity,
higher exclusive breastfeeding rates/longer
breastfeeding duration, increased weight gain,
improved state regulation, and improved
maternal sense of competence.
Evidence-based benefits for term babies include improved state organization and motor system modulation; improved extrauterine temperature adaptation; and an analgesic effect. No serious deleterious effects were reported. Simple holding, without the skin-to-skin contact, was found to reduce crying, and the provisions of soft carriers led to mothers who were more responsive to their babies and to babies who were more securely attached.
Given the many benefits of physical contact between mother and baby, it appears reasonable to encourage this essential practice of holding promoting skin-to-skin contact, in- arms holding, and holding in a soft baby carrier, as a matter of course in the care of new babies (both premature and term) and their parents.
Excerpt from Blois, Maria. Birth: Care of Infant and Mother: Time Sensitive Issues. Best Practices in the Behavioral Management of Health from Preconception to Adolescence, edited by William Gordon and Jodie Trafton. Los Altos: Institute for Disease Management. 2007-8. pp. 108-132. (www.indiseasemanagement.org).
