Babywearing

Babywearing

There's more to it than simply using a baby carrier. #babywearing is part of an approach to parenting which sees the maternal body - or that of another primary or secondary caregiver - as an infant's natural habitat.

As Martha Sears described it so well way back in the 80s, a baby carrier is something you wear like a piece of clothing and your baby returns to this base after the physical care of feeding and changing is done. The baby carrier is simply a tool allowing for continuous contact with the newborn with hands free for other tasks.

"Because we noticed that cultures throughout the world carried their babies in homemade slings we began fabricating different styles of slings to carry Mathew. I remember one day when Martha fabricated a sling out of material from an old bed sheet and said, “I really enjoy wearing Mathew. The sling is like a piece of clothing. I put it on in the morning and take it off in the evening.” Hence the term “babywearing” was born in the Sears household."

Babywearing families do not scorn prams, cots and other containers of infants. They choose to use their body instead of, or alongside these other tools, because they enjoy the connection and believe their baby does too.

In a busy family like the Sears, with 8 children to care for, keeping the baby close met their needs while also those of their siblings. They shared the experience with others and the terminology was born. They new this was a concept as old as time but overlooked in a modern culture which valued independence from birth.