Baby Bjorn is one of the most popular and widely used infant carriers on the market. They are available all over the place! Baby Bjorn is considered a "soft pack" carrier. I used a Baby Bjorn with our third son and it was really easy to use, comfortable, and one carrier worked for both my husband and I, even with our 6" difference. I loved that with the Baby Bjorn carrier I could buckle the baby and play with twins at the park without dragging the stroller around with us... that all being said, there's one really big issue.Unlike other soft pack carriers, such as the ERGObaby carrier, the baby essentially "hangs" from their crotch area rather than sitting on their bum. Sure, the Baby Bjorn was comfortable for ME but, I never thought about what hanging felt like to my baby until Wear Your Baby week began. That's why I'm telling YOU today that GiveThemRoots, and our little family of 5 no longer supports the use of Baby Bjorn carriers. Here's why...
The recommended carrying position for a child is with their legs in a "frog like" position and their buttocks fully supported. A child's knees and buttocks should be level with each other. This is the case with ANY carrier. If the baby is "hanging" the product being used is inappropriate and could actually harm the child.
Hanging in a carrier has the potential to cause spinal and hip damage. The baby's weight is being solely supported by a piece of fabric approximately 3 inches wide that is located directly between the legs. The baby's legs just free fall, not allowing proper circulation.
The Baby Bjorn carrier's design has all of the baby's weight is being carried by the shoulders and neck of the adult wearing the carrier. This can cause chiropractic nightmares! The added weight can cause misalignment of the neck and upper portion of the spine. Unlike the ERGObaby carriers that evenly distribute the weight for a more ergonomical fit.
Parenting By Nature has some more great information about why the ERGObaby carriers pass with flying colors while the Baby Bjorn fails miserably.
Also, check out this article from a Chiropractor about this topic: Infant Carriers and Spinal Stress by Rochelle Casses
Don't be fooled, there are numerous soft pack carriers that have the same potential risks for babies, take a look below at the pictures of the many pack carriers that are bad for the parent and baby.
Left to Right: Infantino Front2Back, Kelty Kangaroo, Maclaren carrier, Chicco Ultra soft & Evenflo Snugli
Now, forget about those uncomfortable and even dangerous soft pack carriers and enter to WIN an organic ERGObaby carrier OR a $50 credit towards the purchase of the carrier of your choice at Parenting By Nature while you're here!
5 comments:
Great to see this post :D I was wondering what you were going to say about it after having posted about all those other great carriers! Too many people use these junky carriers without realizing how bad it is for baby! I have a carrier collection (oops!) and love the different options of all those great carriers out there that support the baby really well. Interesting that all the great designs are based on carriers that have been used for ages in other parts of the world!
I completely agree Lauren. I wish these amazing companies would market their carrier the way the "junk carriers" do! So many people would buy them, if they just knew!
Thanks for the comment! :)
I used to think it was because a lot of the non-mainstream carriers were more expensive, but when you look at the price of the Baby Bjorns and the Baby Trekkers, that obviously isn't the case. And if you go with a Beco or Ergo, then it isn't that they look horribly complicated and scary with having to tie them up (which seems to scare a lot of people off things like wraps and Mei Teis!)
It must be a marketing thing, nothing else would explain it!
Love the new picture of your little guy in the New Native pouch :D
Lauren
heehee, that's actually a New Native model, but it is an adorable picture & baby!:)
Oops! You were talking about your little guy sleeping in the cradle position beside the picture so I figured it was you :D
I'm sure your little guy is at least as cute!
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