Babywearing

Carrying across cultures

A 2020 review in Infant Behavior and Development, written partly by babywearing educators, proposes that infant carrying is a biological norm for human caregiving. Its authors suggest that the mutual adaptation of infant and carrier may date back about 4 million years to the emergence of bipedalism, and they discuss hypotheses about the invention of carrier tools. These are the authors' hypotheses, and the sources used on this page do not date particular carrier designs.

Carrying practices differ by culture and region, and the sources used here describe only a few. A 2019 study of United States mothers notes that ethnographic research links mother-infant physical contact with high maternal responsiveness, and it examines carrying as a culturally mediated practice rather than a single method.

The modern Western revival

Ann Moore, a pediatric nurse, writes that she served in a Peace Corps medical team in Togo from 1962 for two years. She describes infants carried on mothers' backs, alert and content, with little crying in the markets. After returning to the United States she and her mother devised a soft carrier, which the family named the Snugli. Moore reports that a patent was granted in 1969 and that the company was sold in 1985 after more than 1.5 million babies had been carried in Snuglis. These figures come from her own account.

A 1982 newspaper profile gives a slightly different timeline. It reports that Moore's first child was born in Colorado in 1964, that her mother sewed the prototype in one night, and that carriers were later made by farm women in Ohio before Snugli grew into a company with overseas distributors. Moore's own account also says that she believed carrying contributed to infant security, and that some people criticized her for spoiling the baby.

The wider history of the 1960s and 1970s revival, including the role of William and Martha Sears in popularizing the term and its link to Attachment Parenting, is not documented by a free, verifiable page among the sources reviewed for this article, so it is not described here.

Babywearing and infant carrying

Researchers use several terms for the same practice. A 2023 scoping review lists the keywords baby carrier, baby wearing, babywearing and infant carrying, and a 2024 study uses infant carrying and babywearing interchangeably, grouping it with holding and skin-to-skin contact as forms of social touch. A 2025 systematic review uses ergonomic babywearing for carriers that keep the baby in contact with the adult.

Safety bodies tend to use the words sling and carrier, and they are not always defined the same way. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission wrote in 2010 about sling-style carriers and slings with a pouch, while Health Canada refers to a sling or carrier, and the Lullaby Trust uses sling and carrier together.

Related terms and neighboring pages

Babywearing is one of several infant care practices that overlap with other Machipedia pages. It is often grouped with Attachment Parenting, a philosophy of responsive caregiving. It is distinct from Kangaroo Mother Care, which is skin-to-skin holding of a small or preterm infant, although neonatal studies of babywearing draw on skin-to-skin research. Pages on Breastfeeding, Infant Sleep Coaching and RIE Parenting cover related areas of infant care, and this page is a member of the family page Parenting Approaches.

Carriers and who wears them

Babywearing involves a cloth or soft-structured carrier that holds the infant against the wearer's body so that the adult's hands are free. A carrier educator organization describes its course content as covering ring slings, wraps, meh dais and soft structured carriers. This page does not describe how to tie, adjust or position any carrier.

Parents are the usual wearers, but not the only ones. In a 2024 neonatal intensive care unit study of 29 infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal, hospital and research staff wore infants when a parent was not available, and 31.0 percent of infants were worn exclusively by volunteers.

Duration and settings reported in studies

Studies describe carrying at home, in laboratories and in hospital units. In a laboratory experiment, mothers carried or did not carry their infants during play. In the 2024 neonatal study, each wearing phase lasted 30 minutes. A 2024 randomized study counted mothers who wore their infants at least 45 hours over three months as consistent babywearers.

What practitioners and researchers describe

Moore describes the practical aim as keeping her baby close while her hands were free, and she attributes calm and security to the closeness. A 2025 systematic review describes babywearing as giving comfort and emotional closeness between baby and carrying adult. A carrier educator organization states that carrying creates a physical and emotional bond and has public health benefits, which is the organization's own claim.

In neonatal settings, authors have proposed babywearing as an inexpensive, nonpharmacological way to support infants experiencing withdrawal and their caregivers, and as a practical alternative when staff cannot perform skin-to-skin care. These are proposals from the research groups. The next section covers what the studies measured.

Limits on how claims are framed

Claims in the sources vary in strength. The 2023 scoping review describes possible beneficial effects while stating that the evidence is insufficient for practice recommendations, and the 1991 colic trial found no effect of added carrying on crying in infants with colic. Statements by carrier educators and manufacturers about bonding or public health benefit are organizational claims, and this page does not treat them as findings.

Carrying and infant crying

A 1986 randomized controlled trial in Pediatrics assigned 99 mother-infant pairs to increased carrying or a control group. At 6 weeks of age, when crying peaked, infants given supplemental carrying cried and fussed 43 percent less overall (1.23 versus 2.16 hours per day) and 51 percent less in the evening. Smaller decreases occurred at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. The trial tested extra carrying, not a specific carrier.

A 1991 randomized trial tested the same idea in 66 mothers of infants with colic, who were randomized to standard advice or standard advice plus a recommendation to increase carrying by 50 percent. Carrying rose by 2.2 hours per day, but crying and fussing did not differ between groups; at 6 weeks the carried group cried 3 minutes less per day, with a 95 percent confidence interval from 37 minutes less to 32 minutes more.

Responsiveness, heart rate and neonatal studies

A 2019 paper reported three studies. In one, 23 mother-infant pairs, mothers who wore their babies interacted more contingently in laboratory play. In a survey of 492 mothers, babywearing predicted beliefs emphasizing responsiveness. In a within-subjects experiment with 20 pairs, mother-infant physical contact increased maternal tactile interaction and responsiveness to infant vocalizations. The authors note that the first two studies cannot separate the act of carrying from the beliefs of mothers who choose to carry.

A 2024 study of 29 infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal in one neonatal intensive care unit measured heart rates before, during and after 30-minute wearing sessions. Infant heart rates declined during and after babywearing compared with baseline, with a larger fall when the wearer stroked the infant's head (11.17 beats per minute) than with static touch (3.74). The design compared touch conditions rather than carrying against no carrying, and the study was small and single-site.

Maternal outcomes

A 2024 study randomized 47 mothers with a history of opioid use disorder, admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit with their newborns, to babywearing or an infant rocker. Urges to use substances within nine months were reported by 43.5 percent of babywearing-condition mothers and 91.7 percent of control mothers. The outcome was self-reported, the sample was small, and some group comparisons were based on hours worn rather than random assignment.

Reviews and gaps in the evidence

A 2023 scoping review included 29 studies on biological and behavioral effects of babywearing on mothers and infants and grouped findings into eight themes. Its authors concluded that babywearing may have beneficial effects but that the evidence is insufficient to inform practice recommendations.

A PubMed search combining babywearing and carrier terms with Cochrane reviews returned no review of babywearing. Web reports of small pilot trials on postpartum depression and bonding were not verified as published full-text trials, so none is described.

Suffocation and falls as bodies state them

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission stated in November 2010 that it had identified 14 infant suffocation deaths involving sling-style carriers over 20 years. It said babies under four months, premature or low-birthweight babies, and babies with colds or breathing problems need extra caution, and that suffocation can occur within minutes. It added that the warning does not mean all slings are dangerous.

Health Canada, on a page modified in November 2025, states that serious injuries and deaths can occur when a baby falls out of a sling or carrier, is positioned incorrectly, or is covered by a closed coat. It says babies have poor neck control and a higher risk of suffocation, and that those under 4 months, born prematurely or with a medical condition may be at higher risk. It advises talking to the baby's doctor first.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that some sling carriers may curl a baby into a C-shape, which greatly raises the risk of breathing problems, that babies born prematurely or with respiratory problems should not be placed in backpacks or other upright carriers, and that a baby may tip out if the wearer bends at the waist.

Published checklists and sleep guidance

The Lullaby Trust states there is no reliable evidence that slings are directly associated with sudden infant death syndrome, but that infants have died in slings worldwide, particularly young infants, and that the risk appears greatest when the airway is blocked. It calls hands-free feeding while moving around unsafe, especially under four months. It cites the T.I.C.K.S. guidance from the Consortium of UK Sling Manufacturers and Retailers: Tight, In view at all times, Close enough to kiss, Keep chin off the chest, Supported back. An NHS Fife leaflet reviewed in January 2025 reproduces it. No trial reviewed here tested whether following the checklist reduces harm.

The British Association of Perinatal Medicine noted in 2022 that several organizations had highlighted increased risks for low-birth-weight babies and encouraged its members to discuss them with parents.

Hip positioning and other considerations

The International Hip Dysplasia Institute states that carriers may be used for short-term purposes during transport or occasional activities, that the hips should be allowed to spread apart with the thighs supported and the hips bent, and that devices holding the legs in an unhealthy position are a potential risk for abnormal hip development. It lists prolonged sling use before six months as not recommended where the cradle position holds the thighs together.

A study of nine babies under 12 months found that 15 minutes of babywearing in a thermoneutral room did not change tympanic temperature, though skin temperature rose by up to 1.1 degrees Celsius; it did not test long wear or heat. Wearers can experience strain. Babywearing may not suit very young, premature or medically fragile infants without medical advice, and carrying should not delay or replace conventional care.

Educators and consultants

The sources reviewed identify no statutory or professional regulation of babywearing educators or consultants. The Center for Babywearing Studies, a private training organization, states on its own pages that a certification program is not necessary to teach others to carry their babies. Its Foundations course is described as about 30 hours of live online classes over roughly seven weeks, with a written test and a live skills assessment, leading to a Certified CBWS Babywearing Consultant title and approved for Lamaze continuing education units. This is one organization's description of its own program, and other organizations and titles exist.

Because titles and programs are set by private organizations, a consultant's certificate does not by itself indicate medical qualifications. Safety bodies cited above direct parents with health concerns, premature infants or low birth weight to a doctor or midwife.

Relation to Parenting Approaches

This page belongs to the Machipedia family page Parenting Approaches, which is not repeated here. Related pages include Attachment Parenting, Kangaroo Mother Care, Breastfeeding, Infant Sleep Coaching and RIE Parenting. The research summarized above studied carrying specifically and does not show that any broader parenting approach is superior.