Natasha Chiam

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'A' for Effort....but still an 'F' for Ergonomic.

Natasha Chiam

On Twitter this afternoon I kept seeing a bunch of tweets about the #miraclecarrier baby carrier and of course, my curiosity was piqued.

Upon further investigation, I soon realized that the "miracle carrier" that was being tweeted about was none other than a new version of the Baby Bjorn.

And upon first glance, it seems like a good idea. Add a waist belt to the carrier and Poof! fix all the issues of comfort and ergonomic-ness that people complain about with the original Bjorn carrier.

Have a look at the promo video. It seems easy enough and look somewhat comfortable, but look closely and you will see that the issues that have always existed with the Baby Bjorn carrier are still there.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzXWtl7T4RY[/youtube]

While it may be more ergonomic for the wearer, I still have a hard time recommending this as an ergonomic carrier for the baby being carried. While the medical experts that Baby Bjorn has hired claims that the baby's hips are in the optimal abducted or spread leg position, they fail to see that the fabric of the carrier itself still only supports the baby from the crotch and does not put babies in the flexed and abducted position. This is the position that babies are hard-wired to assume when they are picked up, with their legs spread around the mother's hip, back or torso, their knees bent and in a seated position. (1)

Any carrier used should fully support your child in this 'in arms' position and the fabric of said carrier should extend from the back on one knee all the way to the other one. This is NOT happening with the new so-called miracle Bjorn carrier. As you can clearly see in the video, all the babies being carried have their legs dangling down and they are not in the optimal position for hip development.

Do I even have to mention that they are also showing a 15 month old, 26 pound child in a forward facing position in the 'miracle' carrier!! What is a miracle is that this is not completely ruining this woman's pelvic floor. Or maybe it is?? Having even 15 pounds of weight held in front and hanging away from you, can and does wreak havoc on an already compromised (by pregnancy and birth) pelvic floor. I don't recommend forward-facing positions in any carrier. Not just because it puts baby's spine in a flattened (as opposed to a natural curved) position and it can be overstimulating for them, it is also,and maybe in larger part, for the health and well-being of the mamas who are putting their bodies at risk doing so!

So in the end, I do have to give BabyBjorn an A for effort. They did give it a good go with the new waist strap and taking pressure off of the wearer's back and shoulders. But I can not give them a full passing grade for this new "miracle" baby carrier. It still is a Baby Bjorn, it still dangles babies and toddlers from their crotches and it still is only good for front baby wearing. And with an asking retail price of $199.00, I do not think that this is a good investment for your babywearing dollar!

For some truly Happy Babywearing.....you know where to go!!

Natasha~

Disclaimer: I fully admit that I have never tried the Baby Bjorn Miracle Carrier (or any of the Bjorn carriers for that matter), I don't think that matters though. Proper positioning is proper positioning regardless of the baby carrier!

References:
1. Strollers, Baby Carriers and Infant Stress, Elizabeth Antunovic ©2008 NAP, Inc.

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Summer Blog Challenge posts for August 16, 2011