Benefits to society? Thoughts please

[NW6Londonmum]

I am speaking at a breastfeeding organisation conference in the Summer on the benefits of babywearing.
My colleague is focusing on the benefits specifically to breastfeeding and I am tackling benefits to society more generally e.g. aiding parental/ child bonding, shaping emotional connections that continue into adulthood, how emphasising baby 'independence' could be to the detriment of the wider society.

I have read some articles available on the internet e.g. through babywearer.com but would appreciate any other pointers anyone else could give me or any thoughts you might have.

One of my problems is that it just seems so OBVIOUS to me that it would result in a more well-rounded society if we placed a higher emphasis on physical contact in infancy so I need some help stepping back and 'finding the facts' for potentially a more skeptical audience.

Thanks in advance

[mckittre]

My thought would be that one of the best things for a skeptical audience would be the benefit to busy parents!

Before my son was born, I had zero thoughts/knowledge about babywearing. Someone gave us a Moby wrap, and I thought "great, now I can have someplace to put him when we need to go somewhere." Of course, now that I have it, I realize he's much happier in there than being put down, and since he'll only nap on someone, it allows me to actually do something other than hold the baby. I still don't know much about the other benefits, but the practicality is enough to sell me, and anything else is just a bonus.

[Sheryl1678]

Baby carriers also generally carry less of an environmental impact than all the manufactured products that many parents use, like swings, playpens, bouncy seats, etc.

[Ruthie's momma]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

Baby carriers also generally carry less of an environmental impact than all the manufactured products that many parents use, like swings, playpens, bouncy seats, etc.

:

Carriers have less of an environmental impact than strollers, too.

Other benefits...

*inexpensive baby "gear" (you can even make your own)=saves $

*recreates womb environment=more content babe

*helps to protect babes from being touched by "germy" strangers=potentially healthier babes

*helps to keep active/wandering toddlers closeby=keeps babes safe

*babe/toddler is better able to participate in real life (because they are being held up at an adult level of activity)=promotes social development

[LittleLlama]

I always just knew that my first was more on the side of "high needs" as an infant because he always needed to be held. Now he has turned into quite a spirited toddler. I was just reading today in Raising your Spirited Child that kids who exert so much energy NEED physical closeness, they NEED contact with another human. With my guy (now to big to be worn) if he didn't get some good time on my back, he'd fill that need by smashing into other kids and knocking them over or dog-piling them.

There's the whole aspect of convenience too. With my DD, 16 months, by 5pm, she's too tired to play, to awake to sleep, too fussy to be on the floor but I've got to make dinner. I could keep trying to entertain her in another part of the house where she may or may not get clobbered by DS, or I can put her on my back where she's snug and safe and happily eating a cracker.

[almadianna]

http://babywearinginternational.org/articles.php

there is a "benefits of babywearing" article on there that might be of help to you that has some references cited.

Also it has been proven to help babies in NICU and preemie babies.

[NW6Londonmum]

Thank you so much for the responses so far. That article is very useful and your comments are a great way to lead me in new directions.
Anything else is much appreciated.

[earthgirl]

This probably isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's something that I frequently think about. We rely on public transit and I've actually had people make negative remarks to me about wearing DD b/c she's "too big". It occurred to me that the next time someone makes a remark I should just point out how much space we are not taking up because we're not using our stroller. Not sure what kind of spin that you could put on this, but I do think other passengers are benefiting from my baby (er, toddler) wearing, whether they realize it or not.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by earthgirl

This probably isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's something that I frequently think about. We rely on public transit and I've actually had people make negative remarks to me about wearing DD b/c she's "too big". It occurred to me that the next time someone makes a remark I should just point out how much space we are not taking up because we're not using our stroller. Not sure what kind of spin that you could put on this, but I do think other passengers are benefiting from my baby (er, toddler) wearing, whether they realize it or not.

Yes, I thought this last time we were at Disneyland -- my 4yo DS and I walked, and I wore the baby, and our "footprint" as a group was so much smaller than people who were pushing strollers. It was great to be able to zip in between the crowds rather than having to maneuver a bulky, heavy stroller around.

[littlemizflava]

here is my take...
strollers take up so much space when out, they are hard to fit in tight spaces, heavy and awkward to carry, most strollers baby faces out (i have seen many geting hit and bumped by stuff and people)
everywhere i go i always see a baby in a carrier carseat or a stroller looking at the world most time not even seeing the caregiver.
babywearing gives you the ability to multi-task-i can hold my hungry baby, breastfeed and do something else (cook, clean, play with my dd, ect.)...
i can have my baby close and see their face and coo and drool over them everysecond :
once they are old enough they will be able to get down and walk. bw does not make them wanting to be held more then a child in a stroller because a BWing baby is use to being held therefore they are more outgoing and independant.

[ohmmama]

I always tell people that when societies were nomadic, a woman would not dare to put her baby down because they would most likely be eaten or die of exposure. Today we have climate control and few predators, but the newborn baby doesn't know it was born in a whole new era. They are programmed to feel safe a secure worn on their parents.

[calpurnia]

i really don't like the suggestion that babywearing is beneficial to society because it takes up less space on buses etc. the implications of that are, i think, pretty dodgy.

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by calpurnia

i really don't like the suggestion that babywearing is beneficial to society because it takes up less space on buses etc. the implications of that are, i think, pretty dodgy.

Can you expand on this please?

[calpurnia]

Originally Posted by almadianna

Can you expand on this please?

well, are wheelchair users to stay out of the way of other people because of the size of their "footprint"? are parents who can't babywear for medical reasons to be discouraged from attending public spaces since their child will take up too much space in their pram? are fat people using more than their fair share of space?

& are babies only acceptable if we make them as invisible & inconvenient as possible?

i carry the baby on the tube/bus because i can't face getting a pram on/off, through the people etc. but if it were more convenient to me & my baby to use a pram, i would like the needs of a mother/baby dyad to be respected in our society.

on the other hand, i do think that bugaboos are entirely unreasonable in size. couldn't you just use a nice foldaway maclaren?

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by calpurnia

well, are wheelchair users to stay out of the way of other people because of the size of their "footprint"? are parents who can't babywear for medical reasons to be discouraged from attending public spaces since their child will take up too much space in their pram? are fat people using more than their fair share of space?

& are babies only acceptable if we make them as invisible & inconvenient as possible?

i carry the baby on the tube/bus because i can't face getting a pram on/off, through the people etc. but if it were more convenient to me & my baby to use a pram, i would like the needs of a mother/baby dyad to be respected in our society.

on the other hand, i do think that bugaboos are entirely unreasonable in size. couldn't you just use a nice foldaway maclaren?

I dont see how stating a fact has any negative implications, nobody is making any kind of judgement regarding people that are in wheelchairs and I really dont know where this leap came from...

It is a fact that babywearing a child on a bus takes less space. The implication to that statement is simply that parents who do not babywear and use a stroller do take up more space. This is just true.

The intention is just to communicate a simple fact, not to imply that there is something truly negative/wrong/harmful with not babywearing on the bus. I dont see any disrespect coming from that at all.

Babywearing as you mentioned can very much be something for convenience purposes but we do what works for us. If sometimes babywearing isnt convenient... that is ok too.

[LittleLlama]

Last time I took a bus it was packed, I had my toddler on my back and ended up in front of the handicap door/ramp where I was standing. A man in a wheelchair needed on one stop. If I had a stroller, I doubt I could have manuvered away to give him adequate space to load.

No one is comparing strollers to wheelchairs.

[limabean]

I see what you're saying, calpurnia. I think it's a wording issue. I guess the smaller footprint of a babywearing mama isn't so much a benefit to society inasmuch as it's just plain old handy for the mama herself. And it can have some perks for those around her in that she's taking up less space, but I can see where the phrase "benefit to society" kind of has a moral sound to it, as though it's morally superior to take up less space, and anyone who takes up more space is doing something wrong. I don't think that's how anyone in this thread intended it to sound, but I can see where you're coming from.

[FunkSoulMommy]

Originally Posted by earthgirl

We rely on public transit and I've actually had people make negative remarks to me about wearing DD b/c she's "too big". It occurred to me that the next time someone makes a remark I should just point out how much space we are not taking up because we're not using our stroller. Not sure what kind of spin that you could put on this, but I do think other passengers are benefiting from my baby (er, toddler) wearing, whether they realize it or not.

I have another take on this as well. Not only do my son & I take up less space when we babywear on the bus, but I am firmly convinced babywearing saved my sons life on public transport.

We were on our way home one day and the driver was getting ready to go through a stoplight when some "not nice man" decided to make a left turn on red right in front of us. The driver slammed on the breaks really hard so the man didn't take out the front of the buss.

I was thrown sideways and ended up with a nasty black eye from hitting a pole with my face, a verry preggo woman in the back had the nasty experience of not only worrying about her belly baby, but also having to run down the isle to pick up her toddler who was thrown forward almost to my feet. I have no doubt my little man would not have survived such an impact. I cannot imagine EVER being on public transport without him in a carrier again, even now that he is much more intent on "baby walking" everywhere.

[LittleLlama]

Originally Posted by FunkSoulMommy

I have another take on this as well. Not only do my son & I take up less space when we babywear on the bus, but I am firmly convinced babywearing saved my sons life on public transport.

We were on our way home one day and the driver was getting ready to go through a stoplight when some "not nice man" decided to make a left turn on red right in front of us. The driver slammed on the breaks really hard so the man didn't take out the front of the buss.

I was thrown sideways and ended up with a nasty black eye from hitting a pole with my face, a verry preggo woman in the back had the nasty experience of not only worrying about her belly baby, but also having to run down the isle to pick up her toddler who was thrown forward almost to my feet. I have no doubt my little man would not have survived such an impact. I cannot imagine EVER being on public transport without him in a carrier again, even now that he is much more intent on "baby walking" everywhere.

OMG! How awful for everyone! A fender bender can bang up people strapped in to car seats pretty good, I can't imagine being in a bus!!

[earthgirl]

Originally Posted by FunkSoulMommy

I have another take on this as well. Not only do my son & I take up less space when we babywear on the bus, but I am firmly convinced babywearing saved my sons life on public transport.

We were on our way home one day and the driver was getting ready to go through a stoplight when some "not nice man" decided to make a left turn on red right in front of us. The driver slammed on the breaks really hard so the man didn't take out the front of the buss.

I was thrown sideways and ended up with a nasty black eye from hitting a pole with my face, a verry preggo woman in the back had the nasty experience of not only worrying about her belly baby, but also having to run down the isle to pick up her toddler who was thrown forward almost to my feet. I have no doubt my little man would not have survived such an impact. I cannot imagine EVER being on public transport without him in a carrier again, even now that he is much more intent on "baby walking" everywhere.

Wow! That is scary. I'm glad y'all were OK. This reminded me of another public transit story, though. A mom on a local parenting group recently posted that she had her baby in the stroller when a woman (presumably mentally ill) started yelling at her telling her it wasn't safe for her to have her baby on the bus in a stroller. She then proceeded to try to grab the baby from the stroller! The mom yelled at her and the driver got involved, but still. If that had happened to me I'm sure it would have sufficiently frightened me enough to always make sure DD was in a carrier.