By Brooke Maree
It’s safe to say, no one expected to be parenting through a global pandemic last year. 2020 was a giant curve ball and 2021 is shaping up to be a challenging one too. Parenting is tough at the best of times and with restrictions and lockdowns, we’ve experienced more isolation and less support from some of the networks we need most.
Thankfully, babywearing can help support you in difficult times in more ways than you might realise!
Using a baby carrier, wrap, or sling with your baby is especially helpful to reduce your child’s exposure to viruses and bacteria.
2020 came with a new key phrase – social distancing. So now more than ever, caregivers are aware of who and what their child is in contact with. There have been many that have commented that it is a lot easier to block unwanted hands from touching your baby in a public setting when you are carrying your baby and it also helps to limit ‘passing around’ of your baby.
Shopping centre trolleys are notoriously ‘dirty’ with pathogens and bacteria, which can increase the anxiety of doing errands with a child. While the use of ‘trolley covers’ has become a popular way of protecting your baby from that exposure, carrying your child actually eliminates the need to use them completely. And you still have the use of your hands while knowing that you have reduced your child’s exposure to bacteria.
Holding your baby close can actually support their immune system too!
There is a lot of research to show that each time a mother snuggles close and kisses her baby’s head, she actually ‘samples’ any pathogens on her baby’s body. The mother’s body then responds by creating antibodies to pass on in her breastmilk.
