Baby wearing?

Body: 

Hi all,

4.5 months pp and the posture and excercises are definitely helping. However, I'm finding that wearing my baby in a front-carry wrap tends to aggravate the prolapse. Has anyone else found this? I'm guessing that I am not strong enough in the posture yet to maintain it properly with the extra weight. Makes me sad because that is my favourite (and most convenient) way to get around with her.

Maman, my experience with carrying any kind of weight close to my body, is that if I'm in excellent posture, the extra weight actually helps. Christine talks about "weight loading from above" and how it helps to maintain the flattened, closed, airless vaginal space. Do you practice posture at all times? Protecting the lumbar curvature whenever you are upright? This is more than just an exercise program; it's how you want to stand and move all the time. I think you should be able to carry your babe against your chest in good posture, and actually get the benefits of that extra weight-loading. Re-check posture? Belly nice and relaxed? Chest pulled up? Shoulders down (not back)? - Surviving

Hi Bonne Maman, I too discovered prolapse PP and I have to admit I avoided wearing my babe until he was about 6 months because I found I felt more bulgy after holding him in my arms (even high up with his head on my shoulder) and assumed the front carrier would have the same effect. Now I have gotten into it, I wish I had tried the front pack earlier - I can't really maintain good WW posture carrying him in my arms for long because my shoulders and chest get dragged forward and down - not that he's particularly heavy, just really long! With the front pack, because my arms are free I can actually keep my shoulders and chest in WW posture more easily - except when trying to do the dishes or chop veges - and I'm going to try putting him on my back for that now he's 8 months old and has a really strong neck and back. I don't use a wrap but a carrier which I have found easier than a wrap to position comfortably. It has a hip/waist belt like on a big hiking pack which I position so that it sits just below my belly in front and angling up so it rests on my pads of hip fat and clips higher on my back than it sits in front (hope this makes sense!). My baby is long so he sits belly to belly with me, his head rests on my chest above my breasts. I tighten the shoulder straps so he's held close to me - he's a real octopus baby so if they're too loose he twists round to reach out the side of the pack for things. There is a strap across the back of my neck which I tighten to hold the shoulder straps in a comfy position. I feel the weight in my hips mostly and I focus on keeping my chest up and shoulders down, and my POP doesn't feel worse. I generally feel a lot less bulgy now than at 4.5 months, from what I've read here 3 to 6 months PP feels bad for lots of mums, so hang in there - check your wrap is holding your baby in the best position for WW and see if you can try some other carriers (ones your mum friends have, or make a trip to a shop with a few different kinds for sale?) in case another style might suit you better. Good luck!

I think if you can get the sensation of the weight being carried on your hips you are in the right place, at least when baby is on your back. A carrier with a hip strap like a rucksack would be ideal, especially for hiking, where you don't have to dodge narrow doorways. In the house though, those big carriers can be a bit cumbersome.

However, we do manage to carry maybe 12kg around all day at the end of a pregnancy (how???), out the front at belly level. The pregnant belly is kind of hung from the lumbar spine, so the African wrap around the belly method approximates that. The type of sling that goes over one shoulder can work very well with almost any age of baby. I can see how carrying even a newborn up high on the chest could produce symptoms ifyour belly is tens, or if your butt is tucked.

As an older woman I have tried carrying a heavy day pack on my front, but with the straps extended a bit, down low like a pregnant belly. It was really quite comfortable and I was able to keep my posture correct. Perhaps it is to do with keeping the centre of gravity low?