What is our role: Occupational Therapy and Babywearing Consultancy

What is the role of the occupational therapist in the world of babywearing? How can OTs working with children and families use babywearing to help their clients?

This is one of the questions researchers at the University of Alberta sought to answer in a recent academic literature review on babywearing. In consultation with several experts in the field, including our own Joanna McNeilly and Foundations Graduate Busi Musiiwa , this study sought to identify the relationship between babywearing and caregiver/child wellness. 

It’s no surprise that the researchers found that most of the current literature on the effects of babywearing has focused on biomechanics and safety—any consultants working in the field know that even among non-academic circles, the top questions about babywearing are often about hips and safety.

These researchers identified something that many of us working with families have known for a long time—that the benefits of babywearing on health and wellness go far beyond biomechanics and safety checklists. They concluded that babywearing can impact the caregiver-baby dyad in the psychosocial, cultural, and historical realms as well.

What does this mean for us as babywearing consultants and educators? On the one hand, it’s always great to see academic reinforcement of what we’ve been seeing with our own eyes for years - that babywearing is advantageous for families in ways the general population (and many academics and medical professionals) may not be aware of.

But it’s one thing to know that this is true….it’s another thing to figure out how to translate this in a way that helps families actually take up the practice. 

This is, as they say, where the rubber hits the road. It’s often the most challenging part of working as a consultant - to know how much this practice can positively affect individuals, families, and communities, yet continually see people choose NOT to babywear.

This study is an example of how having babywearing advocates and teachers from diverse backgrounds can help to reinforce this practice for families in ways that resonate with their existing lives, goals, and needs. 

Occupational therapists have an opportunity here to support the families in their care in discovering the multidimensional benefits of babywearing and bringing home the impact of this practice on their (and their baby’s) physical, mental, social, and emotional health.

This is no small feat…but as this review shows, the benefits for the families in our communities are no small thing, either.