On Carrying and Being Carried

Dr. Evelin Kirkilionis, Behavioural Biologist

"I always have my baby in one hand, or even both. I barely get anything done!"

A sigh many mothers know well, on top of caring for their infant while also juggling other tasks. Even when everything seems to have been done for the baby's physical wellbeing, they still grow restless or start to cry the moment their carer steps away. What was a vital necessity throughout our evolutionary history can today feel like a burden or an unreasonable demand: the constant need for closeness.

To understand this need, we have to look back at our evolutionary history. For almost the entire multi-million-year history of humankind, our nomadic way of life made it necessary to take infants along at all times. This was already true for our non-human ancestors. Carrying our offspring is therefore an inheritance many millions of years old.

It was only 10,000 years ago that humans began to settle down. Only since then has it been possible to leave children behind in a safe place. That is far too short a period for biologically (genetically) rooted adaptations to change. And even today, nomadic or semi-nomadic cultures still exist for whom taking their children along remains a necessity.

Closeness Confirmed Through Every Sense

An infant is therefore still innately adapted to being in the direct presence of a caregiver at all times, ideally in close physical contact. And when they are rocked back and forth by their mother's walking rhythm, her closeness is confirmed through almost every sense, conveying that all-important feeling of security.

For an infant, being left alone somewhere, unable to sense the presence of a caregiver, harks back to our evolutionary history as a sign that they have been abandoned, and are therefore in danger. No wonder, then, that they grow restless and start to cry. They feel left alone.

When carried, on the other hand, the baby can calmly take in interesting things in their surroundings from their elevated position on their mother's body, or watch her activities. And their eyes are just as free to close, if that's enough for the moment. Even with a baby who needs a lot of affection, or when their small world is turned upside down, the mother can still get on with other tasks besides occupying and soothing the child.

It's also worth remembering that some situations and routes are easier to manage without a stroller: flights of stairs, bus doors, tight lift spaces, obstacles on the pavement, or crowds of people. So in everyday life, both sides — parent and child — benefit from carrying. This does require parents to be willing to tie their child to their body, and not to find this adult-level physical closeness too intense. Ours is a fairly touch-averse culture; it isn't a given for every parent to allow such intense, close physical closeness over an extended period.

The Parent-Child Bond Through Carrying

Parents repeatedly point out that carrying lets them read their child much better. Thanks to the physical closeness, they know earlier when their baby is about to wake up, is getting hungry, needs a nappy change, or is bothered by something else. Mothers can then, when out and about, head for a suitable place to breastfeed before the feeling of hunger turns into a full-blown crying spell that isn't easy to soothe.

This isn't simply about promptly satisfying a child's needs and reducing crying spells. It also has to do with the development of the parent-child relationship and a parent's sense of competence. Mothers or fathers who typically sense what's going on with their little one naturally feel more confident handling them through this ability to anticipate. They come to see themselves as someone who has successfully made the transition into parenthood, and feel affirmed in their new role.

This sensitive, competent responsiveness to an infant's signals and needs is an important factor in determining the quality of the attachment relationship between parent and child. It depends on recognising the child's needs and signals early, interpreting them correctly, and responding to them promptly and appropriately. Physical closeness makes it easier for parents to do this, allowing them to respond to their babies more sensitively.

And this holds true beyond just the time the baby is actually being carried: it turns out that carrying supports and improves parents' willingness to respond to their child, and their sensitivity to the child's signals. Carrying your baby therefore has a positive effect on parenting abilities themselves.

Hip Joint Development

Carrying is also relevant to hip dysplasia. When infants are carried in an upright, seated position with their legs strongly bent up, this supports the healthy development of the hip joints. Measurements of leg position during carrying in the side hip-seat position show values that correspond to an ideal orientation of the femoral head within the hip socket. This requires the correct carrying technique to be used.

Two guideline values apply for a hip-healthy carrying position:

• The baby's thighs should be bent up at more than 90 degrees.
• The angle between the legs then works out to around 45 degrees on each side (medical literature typically states the half value; the actual angle from thigh to thigh averages around 90 degrees).

This value is considered favourable in the medical literature for the healthy development of an infant's hip joints. Carrying a child this way therefore helps prevent hip dysplasia. Without any carrier at all, sitting on the hip is certainly the simplest position, since even small babies actively participate: pick them up, and they pull their legs in so they can be seated on the hip without any trouble; once seated, their legs press in more firmly to actively stabilise the position whenever the mother makes a sudden movement.

With a carrier, a baby can also be carried facing forward or on the back in the correct posture, though they then can't wrap around the carrier's body the way they can in the side hip-seat position. Here too, it's important for the legs to be bent up more than 90 degrees, especially for very young babies, to prevent the legs spreading too wide.

One difference remains compared to the side hip-seat position: there, every step and movement of the adult constantly transmits movement stimuli to the child's legs and, in turn, to the hip joints, because the child wraps around the carrier's body. These stimuli stimulate blood flow in the still-cartilaginous hip joint structures, further supporting healthy maturation. With front carrying, these movement stimuli are naturally weaker, but the infant's posture is still adequate and likewise supports the healthy maturation of the hip joints.

No Risks or Side Effects

Behind the recurring question of when a child can be carried in a seated position lies parents' fear of damaging their baby's spine through early upright carrying. Yet preventing hip dysplasia requires starting upright carrying early, ideally within the first weeks of life.

Various sources repeatedly claim that upright carrying overloads a child's spine, since after all, a baby can only sit independently much later. Studies, however, have shown that children carried in infancy, even starting in the first weeks of life, show no increased rate of postural abnormalities in the back.

The oft-cited concerns about breathing difficulties or poor oxygen supply also belong firmly in the realm of legend, provided the child is carried correctly. If a baby slumps because they've been tied in too loosely, they genuinely won't be able to breathe freely. But otherwise: if oxygen supply really were a problem, an infant wouldn't keep turning their little face towards their carer's body and burying their nose deep in their clothing. Even when a mother repeatedly tries to turn the little head to the side to keep the airways clear, the baby usually turns their face straight back and snuggles in again.

Finding the Right Method

This raises the practical question: what does the correct posture for an infant look like? Two points are the hallmarks of a correct carrying position, regardless of whether a wrap or a carrier is used:

• Knee higher than the bum: the thighs should be pulled up at least to a right angle, and even more for very young babies. If the nappy sits below the knee crease, you're generally getting it right.
• A supported, upright back: the wrap or carrier needs to hold the infant's back closely enough that the child, leaning against the wearer's body, sits upright. The back should be straight or gently rounded. An infant's spine doesn't yet have the characteristic S-shape of an adult's, and in particular not the adult-type hollow back.

If a hollow back is visible instead, the wrap wasn't tied correctly or an unsuitable carrier was chosen. This unfavourable back posture is usually accompanied by dangling legs: the thighs are then extended at the hip joints, forcing the baby to tilt the pelvis to compensate for this unphysiological extended position. This hollow back also causes the shoulders to fall back. Altogether, this is the opposite of a posture where the shoulders lean slightly forward, a small rounded back is visible, and the legs are drawn in.

Requirements for Carriers and Wraps

Unfortunately, many carriers cause incorrect posture in babies due to their design: the leg openings are often oriented so the legs have to hang down, or the panel between the thighs is too narrow. To judge whether a carrier is suitable, it's enough to keep the two criteria above in mind. In addition, the head should be adequately supported, and nothing should dig in.

So far we've only looked at upright carrying positions. Many mothers feel thoroughly at ease with this from the start: "Tied on like this, I still feel a little bit pregnant!" Others, though, don't take to early upright carrying, even if they want intense physical closeness. Lying down also conveys closeness and security to a child. A wrap lets you choose between lying and various seated positions. Carriers, on the other hand, are mostly designed for an upright posture; some do allow a cradle position, but this isn't always ideal once you want to move on to a seated carrying position.

The range of products has grown considerably in recent years, for both wraps and other carriers. Trying things out with your own child helps you find the right one. A glance in the mirror will usually tell you straight away whether you've found something suitable. With wraps, judging fit is a little trickier; trying different ones side by side helps here too. As a rough rule of thumb: the more elaborate the weave, the better a wrap generally performs in use.

Balanced and Curious

Carrying meets an infant's fundamental need for closeness to a caregiver. Parents benefit too, whether they simply enjoy their child's closeness and a better connection with their baby, or gain more freedom to act. Sometimes it's a kind of survival strategy: "There simply wasn't any other way: building the house, our older child who was a little jealous and became very clingy again, the everyday things around the household. Tying the little one to me was the easiest option: he went along with everything on my back."

Babies who can watch everything around them from their elevated position on their mother's body never get bored, even though they aren't the centre of attention. This is because they're offered so much. They can turn their interest to their surroundings or to their mother. When it all gets to be too much, they can turn their little head towards their mother to switch off — even very young babies are capable of this.

The upright posture frees the baby from having to lift and stabilise their head, since it leans against the carer's body and is supported by the wrap. Research shows that infants carried this way already display motor skills that are normally only expected weeks later. It has also been observed that infants in an upright posture tend to be more awake, alert, and interested in their surroundings.

And One More Finding

Carried children cried less than others, and this time was essentially replaced by an alert, wakeful phase instead. This gives them more opportunities to engage with their environment, explore it with curiosity, and gain social experience.

Dr. Evelin Kirkilionis is a human ethologist and co-founder of the Research Group on Human Behavioural Biology (Forschungsgruppe Verhaltensbiologie des Menschen, FVM). Her research focus is on early childhood development and translating these findings into practice.

We have been in touch with Dr. Kirkilionis since she completed her doctorate. She leads workshops and training courses and gives talks. Thanks to her considerable expertise, she is a sought-after voice on babywearing not just among specialists.

Her book "Ein Baby will getragen sein" ("A Baby Wants to Be Carried"), published by Kösel, has appeared in several editions and gives parents, or those about to become parents, a good overview of the benefits of babywearing.