TOP FIVE BENEFITS of BABYWEARING for DADS
1. STRESS RELIEF
Babywearing provides natural stress relief for dads when they make contact with their baby. Oxytocin and prolactin are powerful hormones that counteract the damaging effects of adrenaline and improve mood. That explains the happy feeling you get looking at your beautiful baby.
“It has been shown that a live-in father's oxytocin levels rise toward the end of his mate's pregnancy. When the father spends significant amounts of time in contact with his infant, oxytocin encourages him to become more involved in the ongoing care in a self-perpetuating cycle.… Father's prolactin levels begin to elevate during mother's pregnancy, but most of the rise in the male occurs after many days of cohabitation with the infant.” from The Chemistry of Attachment by Linda F. Palmer*
The convenience of babywearing also makes life easier by forcing you to travel light and leave behind all that bulky equipment. I found shopping ventures with just a sling and a spare diaper to be very liberating. It was also the most effective means of putting our tired baby to sleep making every trip out more bearable.
2. EXERCISE
Mom’s can burn up to 500 calories a day just from breastfeeding. This helps reduce “baby weight” from pregnancy. Babywearing can help dad’s lose sympathy weight, especially with little time or energy to exercise after a baby is born.
Because men’s bodies have a different shape (smaller hips and stronger upper body) they will probably want to use different carries than women. I have learned from personal experience that wearing a baby in the center is more comfortable than off to one side. This helps increase endurance and prevents muscle pain or injury.
When you get started you will be using babywearing muscles you have never used before. Dad’s should plan to wear their baby from day one so these unfamiliar muscles get stronger as the baby gets bigger.
3. HAPPY MOMMIES
Mom’s role in nurturing is all encompassing and quickly leaves both her and the baby tired and cranky. This makes it especially tough for solution-oriented dad’s who feel left out but still want to bring sanity back into their home. Babywearing is a great way to proactively partner with mom in parenting, and give her much needed rest and reassurance that she is not alone in her efforts. There are plenty of mom’s that will tell you that babywearing makes men significantly more attractive, especially when they do it with confidence. And you know what they say – if mama ain’t happy…
4. HAPPY BABIES
The importance of paternal attachment is abundantly proven and has its own set of challenges and rewards. Babies spend the first nine months of their life hearing mom’s voice and feeling her heartbeat and movements, so you can expect them to have an adjustment period getting used to yours. Babywearing is a crucial first step for dad’s unique role in helping babies adjust to the outside world. By wearing them at your level they get to see the world from your perspective, building a priceless bond of trust that will be needed as they get older.
5. SERIOUS KWAN (See Jerry Maguire)
Babywearing has nothing to do with gender roles, and doing it proudly helps defeat any social stigmas that might be lingering from the past. The benefits far outweigh any embarrassment but it still might require a bit of courage to take on something unfamiliar, especially in public. Take advantage of this uncertainty to define it as your own. There is no wrong way to do this (barring obvious safety concerns) so find your own comfort level and make it work. Buy your own gear and practice your own carries and by all means don’t quit. Your commitment to babywearing will serve as an example to your friends and family and others who need encouragement.
No comments:
Post a Comment