Is is safe for my baby's legs be spread apart in a carrier?

Alisha asked:
How can I be sure that putting a baby in a carrier is safe? I was told by someone once that you should always use slings for babies, because their legs aren't supposed to be spread apart.

It is actually very therapeutic to have your baby sit with knees up and legs spread. You never want to *force* the legs apart of course, and a newborn will want to stay in a fetal position for a while after birth, but very quickly babies are fine sitting with legs spread. This position is the same one used to treat hip dysplasia in young children, and promotes correct development and alignment of the baby's hip sockets by deepening and strengthening them.

Check out this page on hip dysplasia and scroll down to see illustrations of a baby undergoing therapy. Treatment involves wearing a harness or even a cast
that holds them in the exact position as the standard sitting position of the Beco, Pikkolo and Patapum!

On the other hand, if you look at a child in a Baby Bjorn or similar carrier (especially in facing-out position), you will see that he/she is actually suspended by a strip of fabric across the crotch, with legs dangling straight down and back slightly arched. This is a position that places excessive stress on the base of the baby's spine and the crotch, and can possibly cause a painful condition known as spondylolisthesis. Not therapeutic at all.

Imagine being suspended in a parachute harness for more than 20 minutes, just dangling there with your legs hanging down, and you can imagine that you might want to pull your legs up and sit to get some relief.

The key is to have your baby always sitting with knees at approximately the same level as their seat. That's the general rule for proper ergonomic seating of your baby in a carrier.

If you're still unconvinced, check out any baby over six months being held on his mama's hip. Those legs are spread WIDE around the hip. Babies are built for that.

Slings that hold your baby's legs tightly together are not OK, except for maybe the newest of newborns. When you force a baby's legs together, it torques the tops of the thighbones outwards at the hip socket, and makes a hip dislocation or dysplasia more likely.

For this reason you should also avoid swaddling your baby's legs tightly together. Swaddle the arms and upper body tightly (within reason, of course), while leaving the legs only loosely swaddled.

Some of you might remember that the Pikkolo Baby Carrier offers a facing-out position. So what gives? Is this as bad as a Bjorn?

Well, the Pikkolo is still wide enough at the base (even when cinched to its narrowest point) to support the baby's bottom and upper thighs. The baby doesn't hang by the crotch with legs hanging straight down, there is actually a bit of a seated position.

Facing out is definitely not the best carrier position ergonomically for either you or your baby, but it's not too bad if you have a relatively wide base with some support for your baby's bottom and upper thighs.

*Your* back will still be griping though, due to the baby's heavy head, legs and arms all extending out away from your center of gravity, which forces you to lean backwards to compensate.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but I like detail! ;-)