SLINGS AND ARROWS: Mother was right after all (or: Mother 1, Doctor 0

More and more young mothers are replacing the conventional pram or pushchair for the baby sling. There’s plenty of evidence to show that the close, tactile connection between mother and baby is healthy and beneficial (probably for both parties).

But the practice has had doctors worried. They are concerned that babies are not able to breathe properly, especially if he is facing towards the mother, and it may be particularly dangerous if the baby was premature.

So, ignoring the instincts of the mothers, doctors decided to test if the baby was in danger. They monitored the health and well-being of 24 pre-term and 12 term babies while in a sling and in a pram.

Not surprisingly, they could find no difference at all, except that babies in a pram were missing out on the closeness and comfort of the mother.

(Source: Pediatrics, 2002; 110: 879-83).