Can you use a baby carrier when pregnant?

August 08, 2018

When you are expecting another child, you might wonder how will you manage a toddling one-year-old. They are still too young to walk everywhere on their own. And be honest, you love the closeness when your child is in the baby carrier. But how does it mix with pregnancy?

How to use a baby carrier when pregnant

1. Respect advise from your GP or prenatal physician
2. Wear the hip belt below your belly
3. Use safe lifting techniques - keep your back as straight as possible, push with legs 
4. Stay cool 
5. Reduce the load in the late stage of pregnancy

The benefits of using baby carriers are no different when you are pregnant, you just need to be more cautious and listen to medical professionals. Your hip joints, ligaments and connecting tissues are loosening. Listening to your body is essential. The hip belt should be below your belly. When you are lifting your baby carrier up, bend your knees, keep your back straight and lift the weight with your legs. Placing the baby hiking carrier on a bench (or an elevated place) will also help.

The current studies say that lifting a heavy load (which toddlers are) will probably do no harm to the pregnancy or the baby, but can injure the woman. Pregnant women should decrease the load with a later stage of pregnancy. Basically, if you found your child heavy before pregnancy, it is wise to leave the baby carrier with your partner.

Talking numbers, studies recommend reducing the load by 25 per cent from the pre-pre-pregnancy state. As your child puts on weight at the same time (and 9 months is quite a long time) as you progress in pregnancy, you have to pay close attention to your body. Carrying children in baby carriers is a physical activity.

Different type of carriers can work better than others. We recommend the baby carrier for hiking because it keeps you cool, you can put your child down whenever you feel so and quickly hand the carrier to someone else.

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