The sling connection
Yes, slings help moms to be more responsive, and sling-babies are more likely to have a secure attachment to their moms.
First, you may be wondering what we mean by “secure attachment.” Basically it refers to a baby who has learned that he can depend on mom to meet his needs. It is important for the child’s future relationships and general emotional health. To learn more about healthy attachment, click here.
A recent study indicated that the development of attachment is affected by infant carrying. This study was conducted with the participation of 49 lower socioeconomic mothers of minority ethnic backgrounds in a large city of the United States.. It sought to prove that mothers who carried their infants in soft carriers in the first three months of life would be more sensitive and responsive toward their babies after 90 days than mothers who toted their babies in plastic seats and, further, that this responsive behavior would be related to the child's security of attachment at 13 months. Indeed the authors' hypotheses were proven correct. Not only were the cloth carrier moms more responsive towards their babies in infancy, but 83% of their children were securely attached to them at 13 months of age. This was compared to the control group in which only 38% of the children were securely attached to their mothers. Curiously, within the control group, four of the mothers used a soft baby carrier in addition to using the car seat-type carrier and three out of those four mothers and babies had secure attachments. The authors also noted that a high percentage of avoidant relationships within the control group (38.5%) was consistent with existing data on mother-infant attachment for similar inner-city, low-SES populations. It was clear that the increased carrying of the infants in a soft front-pack carrier improved considerably the chances of the mother-infant pairs having a securely attached relationship and was a worthy intervention to be tried with high-risk populations.
Here is the study:
Slings encourage healthy relationships
