Is my carrier safe??? How you can trust your carrier not to fall apart and drop your baby.

I'm not talking about using a carrier that is too big for your baby, which poses a suffocation risk. Proper fit and support in a carrier is a completely different topic. I'm talking about being assured of the quality and safety of the materials and construction methods used to make your carrier. 

The Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) regulates compliance with the US standards for baby carriers. These standards are set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates toxic chemical limits, flammability, strength, and hazards such as fall and choking for all products sold in the US. These standards ensure proper labeling, care, and usage information is on the product itself. All soft carriers, mei tais and front packs manufactured after Sept 29, 2014 must be tested and compliant to ASTM F2236.  When buying a carrier you need to know 3 things: that it is properly labeled, that it can be registered, and that it has been safety tested. The labeling and registration are used in the event of a recall. The safety testing label indicates that the carrier passes the safety requirements outlined in ASTM F2236. (Carriers made prior to September 29th, 2014 were not required to undergo ANY safety testing or conformity requirements.) This covers weight testing, choking and suffocation hazards, and permanently attached proper use information. 

The BCIA is made up of manufacturers, educators, and retailers who are compliant with CPSC standards. Buying a carrier from a BCIA retailer or manufacturer means you can trust that it is safe. Of course, always check your carrier for wear at the seams, buckles, and stress points, because everything eventually wears out. Each model and fabric content must be independently tested by a third party, which means that testing is very expensive. It is often cost prohibitive for very small businesses to make carriers. Please know that it is illegal to sell a non-compliant carrier.  Even if you made for yourself and then sell it when you are done with it, you must be compliant with CPSC regulations. (For more information about selling carriers go to http://babycarrierindustryalliance.org/2013/02/baby-carrier-manufacturing-101/ .) Many of the knock-off, really cheap carriers that are available online are not tested or part of the BCIA. These carriers are very dangerous because of the possible chemical content, weak materials used, and poor construction methods. 

Before I understood the importance of compliance with CPSC regulations, I bought a WAHM made ring sling from a large swap group. Once I had it in hand the material seemed very thin, so I asked several experienced baby wearers for their opinions. They all recommended that I not put a baby in it because of the questionable material and lack of any labels. I found a safe use for it as a belly wrap during pregnancy and a doll sling for my kids. 

In the interest of your child's safety, please only buy BCIA carriers. For more information, go to babycarrierindustryalliance.com If you are unsure of the safety of a carrier that you already own, look for the labeling and check the manufacturer's website. 

Jade lives in east Tulsa with her husband, two boys, and dog Crash. She is passionate about supporting parents. Jade is a Post Partum Doula with Better Birth Now. 

How Babywearing Helps Me; A Deaf Mother's Experience

A deaf mother shares her experience with how babywearing affects how she is able to care for her child. 

Babywearing is so very important to me. Why? Because I'm able to know if my baby cries, is breathing, or using her voice. What? Yes, I am deaf. 

I think baby carriers are so beneficial for deaf parents. Sadly, some people think it's dangerous for us to wear our babies because we won't know if they choke or anything like that, which isn't true. 

You know the senses? Smell, touch, hear, sight, taste? Deaf people don't have the hearing sense but have an increase of the other senses, touch and sight. We get to feel all the details. Wearing our babies helps a lot. I don't see how it is dangerous for us to wear them? It is much safer for us to wear them than put them in strollers.. Why? We won't be able to hear them crying or screaming from there. We would have to watch them all the time while pushing the stroller. Keeping them close makes our life easier! AND, it helps them feel safe and comforts them knowing we are not ignoring them on purpose. 

And, a BONUS! --  we get to use BOTH hands to talk! Oh so much easier on us! :) (Picture shown that I got to communicate with both of my hands)

Babywearing is so much a lifesaver for me.. Of course, it is for everyone, but so much for us. #WEARALLTHEBABIES!! 

Mighty Morphin' Power... Babywearers!

Mighty Morphin' Power... Babywearers!

My almost 3 year old son pretending to be a Power Ranger!

As I'm watching my two year old pretend to be a power ranger, I'm reminded that in a young child's eye there is no right or wrong.  As he runs through the house screaming "Power Ranger" and pressing his "morpher" on his left wrist while watching the original series of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (who use morpher cards that they hold up and call out their zord names to morph), I can clearly see that he's "morphing" using a newer series technique.  To him though he's doing it correctly.  The above pictures are my son using his vacuum sword to protect his sister from the evil popcorn monster! 

As parents we desperately only want to do right by our kids.  In babywearing we hear so many different terms and some of them can make us feel inadequate or even judged.  Babywearing Around Tulsa's mission is to spread the love of babywearing.  As leaders we are here to help answer your questions, help you locate the carrier best for you, help you troubleshoot, etc; we are not here to judge you.  We are however human and sometimes we do not come across as the way we intend. 

So I'd like to explain some of the terminology that we use.

Safe versus Ideal: These two terms are very different but can be easily confused.  A Safe carrier is one that holds baby close to the wearer, hands free, without the child falling or suffocating.  An Ideal carrier is one that upholds the properties that place baby in a seated position, knees level or above bum, and upright.  A safe carrier is any carrier that has passed testing, has not been recalled and is used according to manufacturers' instructions.  Even an ideal carrier can become unsafe if not used properly, though a safe carrier is not always an ideal carrier.  Earlier today I was kissing on the baby and my son wanted to join.  Though his kisses were safe and not rough but gentle, slow kisses on the cheeks, they were not ideal.  Why you ask?  Because they were a slobbery, wet mess, but they still made the baby smile.  The same applies with babywearing; is your baby happy?

        Properties of an Ideal carrier:

·        Upright position

·        Front/Forward facing in (baby facing wearer)

·        Fabric knee to knee

·        Knees level or above bum

·        Baby's spine supported

·        Baby's legs supported

·        For newborns, baby's head supported

        Things that make a carrier unsafe:

·        Using a carrier past the manufacturer's recommended weight range

·        Not properly buckling the carrier

·        Back carrying prior to the recommended age/weight range (wait I was told by an admin that it was safe.....I'll get into this a bit further down)

·        Not using the extra support that is provided with the carrier (For example, not using the K'tan sash when the hold states the sash should be used)

·        A hold or carrier that places their chin on their chest (this possess a suffocation risk)

·        Using a carrier that has ripped seams, broken threads, etc

 

Photos like above circulate Facebook frequently among babywearers.  Though they do show the difference in non-ideal and ideal carriers, they also contain jargon and negative words that can be very off-putting for some.  As an experienced babywearer I know I don't always get things perfect (too much tension on rails, popped seat, shifted therefore not knee to knee, etc) and I know I get defensive if someone just tells me that I'm doing something wrong.  I personally prefer to hear "he's not quite knee to knee" instead of that's bad.  Most that I've talked to feel the same way. 

 

This leads to the next terms that are used very frequently, Recommended and Not Recommended.  I try my best as a leader to stay current in the recommendations that are put out by the babywearing schools.  So far these have not changed much since I've been babywearing.  With that being said, all their fundamentals are the same.  A carried baby is a happy baby.  All schools only recommend carriers that are safe, but not all of them only recommend ideal carriers.  In my personal opinion, there are levels of ideal babywearing and when we know better, we try to do better.  With this being said, when we state that something is not recommended or that this way is recommended it does NOT mean you are wearing wrong, just that another way is researched as better.  For example, back carries in any carrier are not recommended until six months old or the baby can sit unassisted.  If you'd like to see the research for any recommendation, feel free to ask.  I'd be more than happy to share with you.  So does that mean just because something is recommended that you MUST do it that way.  Absolutely NOT.  By all means you are the parent and you know your child the best. 

Spreading the Babywearing Love and Carrying All the Babies!

 

C.J. North is a babywearing activist who is a certified elementary teacher, but stays home with her three kids; 6yo stepson, 2.5yo son, and 5mo daughter.  C.J. has a love for cloth diapers and is crunchier than she ever thought she would be.  She also manages the allergy and special needs of her family, while being overly addicted to research.