The practice of wearing your baby close to your body in a soft carrier is known as babywearing. Parents who wear their babies report happier babies and tidier houses, because their babies are soothed and they have two free hands to get things done. Here are four reasons to wear your baby:
1. Less crying. A scientific study of almost 100 mom-baby pairs found that babies who spent more time in carriers cried 43% less than babies who spent more time out-of-arms.
2. More learning. While the caregiver is bustling about, the baby is busy absorbing and learning from his ever-changing environment. The baby sees, hears, and smells the world, and experiences the caregiver's reactions to it. All this stimulation helps the brain develop.
3. More comforting. The heartbeat, motion, breathing rhythms, and voice of the caregiver all remind baby of life inside the womb.
4. Stronger attachment. In an experimental study at Columbia University, more babies who were worn by their mothers in soft baby carriers developed secure attachments to their mothers than babies who were carried in infant seats.
In Western cultures, where babywearing is the exception rather than the rule, we measure a baby's crying in hours. In cultures where babywearing is common-practice, crying is measured in minutes.