A History of Babywearing In Australia: Part Two

The Federation of Australian States formed at the beginning of the 20th century was predominantly made up of people who still referred to Britain as Home. The first nations people became a silenced minority and the culture of mate-ship was born among the young men who marched off to war to fight for mother England.

Although Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even England itself had histories of carrying babies with shawls, blankets and other fabrics, the practice was associated with poor, ignorant women who cared for their own infants while working on the farm, the family shop or other domestic enterprises. By the time Australia became home to British families, the industrial revolution had sent mothers out of the home to work in factories and mills, separate from their babies. The very old and very young were left to care for infants as best they could. Affluent women, by contrast, were able to out-source their children to nannies and nurses, freeing them to do good works in the community and accommodate an active social calendar. Queen Victoria popularised the new perambulator and baby carriers all but disappeared from use.

Post WW2 brought immigrants from northern Europe under the White Australia policy. They were soon followed by families from Greece, Italy and other countries of the Mediterranean. Even if women came from a tradition of babywearing, the demand they quickly assimilate and live like Australians had them joining the queues of Baby Boom mothers buying prams and strollers for their babies. However, the idea of a baby carrier still appealed, even though modern designs had only a vague relationship with traditional ones.

It was into this environment that babywearing came crashing back into the awareness of Australian mothers. The story is best told in the book Nursing Mums A History of the Australian Breastfeeding Association 1964 - 2014

The Association's first foray mothering products to raise funds stemmed from an interview Mary Paton gave to the women's editor at the Melbourne Herald newspaper. Isabel Carter, in February 1966. The previous year a baby sling called a rebozo, which allowed babies to be carried on the mother's chest, had been purchased from La Leche League. This had inspired Mary to experiment and she had made her own baby sling based on Chinese-style carrier where the baby waS carried on the back. Smartly dressed for the interview, Mary put her youngest child in the sling and demonstrated how it might be used.
When the article and accompanying photo showing Mary wearing the sling and doing the vacuuming (complete with stiletto heels) subsequently appeared in the Herald, Isabel rang Mary explaining that the phone had been running hot and mothers wanted to know how to make the sling. Mary recalled that she responded, "Oh, we're going to be selling them, Isabel. We're making them up." Then we frantically had to start making them!
A sub-committee, headed by committee member Marj Spicer,was formed. At the same same time time expert opinion on the safe useof the slings, now known as 'Meh 'Tais, was gained and the design registered. Sewing bees were held at Marj's house under the instruction of a forelady. We would go along with ironing boards, extension cords, irons, sewing machines scissors. There`d be cutters, there'd be ironers, there'd be people sewing the straps. And there was a wrapper at theend. It was a real factory production line.' Meh Tais were
also sewn by members working at home. As orders increased however, members could not keep up with the demand and the making of Meh Tais was farmed out to a manufacturer.

Public interest in Meh Tais proved enormous with NMA efectively popularising the idea of carrying babies in a sling in Australia. A convenient means of allowing parents to attend to tasks while remaining in contact with their infant,it was also in accord with the Association's philosophy of fostering emotional security. In addition, its novelty appealedto journalists. By July 1967, the publicity officer Gay Skinner reported that articles and photos of the Meh Tai had been ublished ina range of media and two years later televisionpersonality Graham Kennedyfeatured the Meh Tai on his hugely popular variety show, In Melbourne Tonight. In February 1969 it was reported that 600 had been sold in the previous three months.

For the following decades, the Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia (later the Australian Breastfeeding Association) led the way for babywearing in Australia, making and retailing Meh Tai baby slings and, from the late nineties, a buckle version and even a cool mesh variation.

NMAA published a guide to making and using a rebozo, the traditional Mexican baby sling

Towards the turn of another century, alternative brands were increasingly making inroads into the growing market. Throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, brands of “front pack” carriers had been popular, with brands like Snuggli and Kapoochi creating interest.

But it was the early 2000s when babywearing as a parenting technique began to change the design of baby carriers for a new generation.

2014

Ergobaby was founded in 2003 by Karin Frost in Maui, Hawaii and was sold in 2010 to Compass Diversified Holdings after making $23 million in sales the previous year! The popularity of the Ergo baby carrier went global, offering an alternative to narrow-based products like the Baby Bjorn and allowing infants to be carried into the toddler years. Ergo was soon considered the carrier from around 4-6 months of age. Meanwhile in Germany, the Manduca carrier was on a similar pathway and would arrive in Australia not long after Ergo.

For younger babies, the popular choice was the Hug-a-bub. Created in the early 2000s by childbirth educator Suzanne Shahar and designer Tania Palmer, this Australian stretchy wrap business later added ring slings to its range before going into liquidation in 2016. It was taken over by Fertile Mind, who already distributed Manduca in Australia but was eventually bought by a global entity.

Woven wraps like the original brand Didymos were becoming available from Australian-based small businesses, reducing the prohibitive postage expense to buy personally from Europe or the US.

Ring slings, popular with fans of Dr William Sears (whose wife Martha coined the term “babywearing”) were also being sold in Australia, while imported meh dais were competing directly with the ABA products.

By the twenty-teens, brands like Tula had cult-like following and the market for pre-loved products was competitive. Tula was founded at the end of 2009 in Poland. They founded the business with a goal of selling 1 carrier a day. In 2011 founders Mike and Ula moved to San Diego, California with an intention to produce and sell carriers only in Europe. Meeting the local babywearing group inspired them to bring Tula Baby Carriers to families in the US. Word spread and soon Australian parents were paying high prices to buy online.

Babywearing groups flourished as parents came together to share the skills and techniques used with the different types of carriers. Small businesses marketed an increasing range of designs and colour-ways. Following in the footsteps of both Europe and the US, babywearing organisations formalised and established training courses to certify babywearing consultants, allowing business-owners to offer personalised education to their customers.

Big business was watching. Multi-national companies saw the potential in brand names and customer loyalty and made offers too good to refuse. Over a period of a few years, distribution to big brand baby stores by global businesses made it harder for small business to compete. The fluctuatig Australian dollar kept prices high for the low-volume purchases home-based retailers needed to make. By 2020, brands like Tula and Ergo had dramtically moved away from those original, wide-based carriers, introducing adaptable products allowing babies to face-out, be worn by newborns and predominantly consist of man-made fibres. Then came the pandemic.

Looking forward

The current trend is for babies to “face the world” in baby carriers. Parents who consider a baby carrier simply as an alternative to prams appreciate the forward-facing option brands have increasingly incorporated into their designs. However, for parents practicing babywearing as part of a responsive, gentle approach to parenting, “hear to heart” remains the desired position when baby is carried on either front or back. The T.I.C.K.S safety guidelines are not compatible with the facing out position.