Wrapping with Clubbed Feet and Spinal Bifida
Does your baby have a physical condition that makes wrapping impractical? Because of the versatility of wraps, in many cases it will be possible to find a way to wrap up your baby that, rather than being impractical under the circumstances, will make it much easier for you to care for your baby. Before you reject babywearing out of hand, read this story:
Sarah had a friend whose baby was born prematurely with some special medical situations: clubbed feet, Spinal Bifiida, dislocated hips and a delicate immune system. Rather than giving up her plans for wrapping because of the special situation, her friend was able to use a baby wrap to help her handle the special needs. She was lucky to have in her friend a trained babywearing instructor. Since most moms don’t have Sarah to call on, I wanted to share this story for those mamas and papas who might have similar situations and could benefit from their story.
Wrapping up baby Alethea, was helpful to her mama because it allowed her to more easily hold her baby while supporting her heavy leg braces…while recovering from multiple surgeries herself. It supplied her with a way to hold her baby’s hips in the spread position that her doctors had recommended, which was difficult to achieve in arms. It gave her a safe way to carry her baby in public while protecting her delicate immune system from being exposed to a lot of germs. It also allowed her to give her premature baby the extraordinary benefits of being held tummy to tummy while she went about her day.
In wrapping Alethea, her mamma had several physical considerations to account for. The leg casts had to be supported so that they did not pull down on her baby. The casts held Alethea’s legs stiffly in position so that her legs could not be bent into a squat as is normally recommended. And Alethea was born early, making it particularly important to ensure that her airway was not compromised by letting her chin sink against her chest.
Read Sarah’s story about helping Tracy wrap up baby Alethea.
Ashton Jones July 16, 2012 at 12:49 pm
My wife uses a baby wrap and thinks they are the best transport when we’re out.