Front Facing Carrier Bad For Spine

Sunwize the main advantage of dog carrier slings is that they allow you to keep your arms free while you re carrying your fido.

Front facing carrier bad for spine.

With a front facing carrier the wearer has an awkward load and often ends up arching her back to compensate. Carriers used with baby facing in or out for babies before 6 months of age and ideally after that should support the back of the thighs not just the baby s bottom. Outward facing carriers unlike wraps slings and mei tais do not provide proper leg support which can make their pelvis tilt backward and place them in a hollow back position. It has a bucket style seat that keeps knees even with or slightly above the baby s hips.

Parents often pick their babies up by wrapping their hands around the rib cage right under the armpits. If the carrier positions the infant upright with the legs hanging down and the bodyweight supported at the base of the baby s spine i e. This is another reason to consider back wearing when your baby is old enough and can hold their head up on their own. Babies bodies are naturally adapted to being carried facing you.

Places your baby in an arched or hollow back position which places pressure on the spine. Even when using the ergo baby carrier front facing position your infant s spine will stay curved in a natural c position. Top 3 reasons why are front facing baby carriers bad. Baby wearing has amazing benefits for both mom and baby.

Finally a baby s spine is not supported in the front facing position. Instead of the natural curve of your baby s spine they might be forced into a backwards curve in their spine. These should be avoided for young babies under 4 months of age because of the dangling leg posture the hip capsule can become stretched potentially. At the crotch it puts undue stress on the spine which can adversely affect the development of the spinal curves and in some cases cause spondylolisthesis.

The carrier will pull on your lower back and you start feeling the weight soon. The age that you can switch your baby to front facing in a baby carrier or front outward facing is around 6 months old when they have good head and neck control. This creates more of a seat as opposed to carriers that allow the legs to dangle freely from the hips which is believed to put baby at risk for hip dislocation and hip dysplasia. Check out this quick video for an explanation of why this is bad for the spine and a demonstration on how to safely lift your baby.

At this time you can also move your baby to the back or hip positions as long as the baby is ergonomically supported. Wearing your baby in a forward facing position on your front can cause stress on your lower back and pelvic floor leading to back pain urinary incontinence and other issues.