The importance of developing secure attachments in early infancy is well-established in medical literature. Parents’ are the first providers of love & security, creating a bond (attachment), which nurtures confidence, self-reliance while fostering resilience, supports the social and emotional development critical to ongoing cognitive development. This bond can even establish gene expression for later on in life.
One of the key discovery of the Genome Project was the finding that certain life experiences (psychological & environmental) can turn on and off gene expression.1 “Primal Health Research” explores correlations between the ‘primal period’ (from conception until the first birthday) and health in later life. 2
Being carried is normal human infant desire and a natural behavior for attuned adults. The simple idea of creating an external ‘womb’, in a sling or arms builds a relationship of trust, closeness and loving touch. It enables easy, fast responses from the parent to meet the baby’s needs, reducing crying and lowering hormonal stress responses in both. Close contact regulates temperature, heart and respiratory rates, conserving energy for growth and development and plays an important role in establishing breastfeeding, which itself infers numerous health benefits to mother and baby.
Beside all this, babywearing can make life so much easier for moms and babies! It was a huge blessing to me as a mom. As a midwife I like to teach all my families about how to wear their babies. There are many different types of carriers to choose from. I suggest getting a variety: A wrap for around the house to be truly hands free for multi tasking and rocking, a carrier for walking, and a super easy sling for going out and about for errands.