A question about 背带 use

[tekesta]

I recently bought a mei tai (背带), a device commonly used in China to carry babies and toddlers. For those who may not know what this is, below is an image of a modern-style one.



My younger sister has a 7-month old son. She works outside the home, so me and the rest of my family babysit him a couple of days per week. The baby is carried often, so he gets plenty of gentle physical contact. He can even be put down for a few minutes without him crying. However, the baby's frequent need to be carried does get in the way when my younger sister or anyone else has to do chores around the house. So, to make things easier on my younger sis, I bought a baby carrier for her to use.

I used the mei tai myself a couple of times and the baby appeared to feel comfortable in it, to the point that he does not resist when I put him in the mei tai. Some time after I showed her how the baby fits in the mei tai when properly used. My younger sis agreed that she could use a baby carrier in which to carry around her son when she has to work around the house, but at the same time she expressed concerns that the positioning of the baby's legs when he is in the mei tai (a bit over 90º between both legs) is likely to cause her infant's legs to grow apart at the hip, thus causing him to grow "deformed" and appear like those of a person who rides horses for a living. Is this a risk with regular mei tai use? Much obliged in advance for your answers.

[tchan001]

http://www.babywearingadvice.co.uk/anatomy.htm
http://dinkerandgiggles.com/safe-babywe ... ted-guide/
http://onyababy.com/blog/2012/09/babywe ... sitioning/
http://babywearinginternational.org/pages/safety.php

[Boidhre]

We used something related with both of our children except it was a sling where they were carried in front of the chest. Babies do seem to find this kind of close contact calming which is handy. The 90 degrees thing isn't anything that I've heard about before, I don't know for certain but one way to think about it is if that was a genuine risk you'd have a lot of people from regions where this method is common walking around bow-legged.

[Splatted]

I don't know for certain but one way to think about it is if that was a genuine risk you'd have a lot of people from regions where this method is common walking around bow-legged.

But it may not be normal to spend such a large amount of time in the sling if they're just using it for commuting and the occasional outing.

[daal]

When my daughter was little we carried her around in a tragetuch, which places the legs in the same position - a spread-squatting position, with the knees around belly-button level. What we were told then was that when facing the body, the position is good for the baby's body and hip development. What was not good was when the baby was facing away from the body with the legs hanging down. The linked article in German says this too.

[tekesta]

Well, here I am again. I am still using the mei tai to carry around my 7½ month old nephew. He seems very much to enjoy being in it, especially for short walks and work around the house. I am able to carry him in the front, but I will need to practice a little more before carrying my nephew on my back. Or at least wait till he's a little bigger.

Of course, I have not yet been able to convince the mother than her son's leg development will not be adversely affected, so I use it only when she is at work, which is for several hours a day.

When I have a child of my own, though, I will be carrying him/her around in my 背帯. Or at least the mother.

[tchan001]

Read the links I posted earlier, they will help you convince her.