Research: Carrying a baby in a sling helped increase breastfeeding rates 6 months after birth

Quick Summary: Research finds babywearing parents were more likely to be breastfeeding or feeding expressed human milk at 6 months postpartum compared to non babywearers.

A new study finds the power of babywearing (carrying a baby in a sling) as a fantastic yet simple way to hugely improve breastfeeding rates 6 months after birth.

As you know, immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth increases initiation and duration of breastfeeding.

Indigenous communities around the world already know the importance of carrying a baby for breastfeeding. Indeed, carrying a baby may promote breastfeeding through increased responsiveness to early hungry cries, increased bonding and decreased crying.

Now a recent study by Little E. et al., (2021) found babywearing parents were more likely to be breastfeeding or feeding expressed human milk at 6 months postpartum (68%) compared to parents in the control group (40%).

The hypothesis

Researchers and community health professionals from Project Concern International, University of California Merced, University of Oregon, and University of Texas at Austin investigated this question:

If parents were provided with soft-structured carriers (and good quality instructions) during pregnancy, could this increase the likelihood of breastfeeding and expressed human milk feeding 6 months after birth?

The Study

A randomized parallel-group controlled trial was conducted between February 2018 to June 2019.

The researchers looked at how babywearing affected feeding outcomes.⠀

At 30 weeks’ gestation:

• 50 parents received an a soft structured infant carrier and instructions on the proper use to facilitate increased physical contact with their babies (the intervention group).
• 50 parents were assigned to a “waitlist control group” (the control group)

Parents in the intervention group used the infant carrier for an average 1.7 hours a day.