Babywearing in a sling and pain ailments in women: A cross-sectional study

Background
Babywearing, whether in a sling or a carrier, is gaining in popularity, which fosters the development of tying techniques and ways of carrying children. Women view babywearing as bond-building and reassurance of providing the need for closeness and security for their offspring. Studies suggest that babywearing reduces the incidence of depression, anxiety and lowers stress in mothers of babies born prematurely and treated in an intensive care unit.

Aim
The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of pain during and immediately after babywearing, taking into account the weight of the carried child, the duration of babywearing, and the use of babywearing consultations in a group of women babywearing in a sling.

Material and methods
The study used a survey questionnaire method that targeted women currently babywearing in a sling through social networking sites. A total of 626 women completed the questionnaire, the mean age was 31 years (min 20 years, max 42 years), and the average body weight was 65.6 kg (min 38 kg, max 135 kg).

Results
There was a weak relationship between the number of women experiencing or not experiencing pain while babywearing and child's weight (ჯ2 NW=29.14 at p=0.01; Pearson's C=0.2; Cramer's V=0.2). A very weak correlation described the relationship between the number of women experiencing/not experiencing pain immediately after babywearing and the child's weight (ჯ2NW=24.26 at p=0.04; Pearson's C=0.19; Cramer's V=0.19). Lack of consultation with a sling counselor was not associated with an increase in the incidence of babywearing pain.

Conclusions
It cannot be assumed that there are significant differences in the number of women experiencing pain relative to the number of women not confirming the presence of pain in the group of babywearing women, taking into account the weight of the child, the use of consultations with a sling counselor, and the duration of babywearing in the sling.