1. Physiological Advantages...
2. Psychological Advantages...
3. Comparisons to Conventional Carriers (front and back packs)...
4. OTSBH Baby Holder vs. OTSBH Extravagant Love Sling...
5. OTSBH Babyholder Color Choices
6. OTSBH Extravagant Love Sling Color Choices

Physiological Advantages...

• A baby's spine is placed in a compromised position in many of today's baby carriers.  If the carrier positions the infant upright, legs hanging down and the support at the base of the spine, it puts undue stress on the spine causing a condition called spondylolisthesis, and compromises developing the curves in the spine.

• When a baby wants to be more upright to see the world around him/her (around 4-5 months of age), the carrier should allow the infant to sit cross-legged, so his/her weight is dispersed through his/her legs and hips, as opposed to the style that has his/her legs hanging down, where again the young spine has to bear the entire weight and can cut into the baby's circulation by holding his legs apart in a bowlegged manner during the important early months when the pelvis is soft and forming. (R.Casses, D.C.)  

• The Over the Shoulder Baby Holder® (OTSBH) provides contact pressure, motion, pleasure, warmth, security and sound similar to the womb that the newborn's nervous system requires.  Vestibular input has a direct effect on the system for arousal in the nervous system.   As a consequence of this most important connection between movement and the reticular system, the movements of the caregiver's body can help the baby maintain that nice, quiet, alert state for learning and allow the baby to drift into a fitful sleep when necessary.  A baby who is worn for prolonged periods during the day tends to be in either the quiet alert state or in a light or deep sleep, seldom in a state of distress. (Roley, 1991)

• The vestibular system is also responsible for equilibrium (balance) and righting reactions (trunk and head control relative to the pull of gravity).  A baby who is carried for prolonged periods tends to develop good tone in the neck and truck and be able to adjust their posture nicely in different positions once they are self mobile.  While walking would not be expected to occur more quickly, you could expect that the child would obtain sitting balance and transitional movements between positions such as from sitting to standing more rapidly.  Once walking, their balance would be enhanced. 

• A baby is born in a state of physiological flexion.  They are literally curled in a ball and not at all comfortable if you try to straighten them out.  The sling lends itself to holding a baby in this flexed position.  Movement stimulates the baby's ability to pull out of this little ball into extension.  The very act of carrying the infant helps the infant to pull out of the flexion it is held comfortably in.  In fact, the muscle tone in the neck and back is greatly enhanced in babies who are worn.

• Swaddling an infant and putting it in a cradle works but lacks a third and most critical ingredient, that of letting the infant know that it is in the hands of the person who nourishes it both physically and emotionally.  An infant who cannot feel or see or hear its caregiver has more stress hormones circulating through its central nervous system.  This causes the baby to cry.  Stress irritates the immature digestive system causing the baby to spit up and increases diaper rashes.  Being touched and carried has a positive effect on the digestive system. (Montegue, 1971)

• The OTSBH® has a shoulder pillow rather than straps over the parent's shoulders.  This is especially important for a nursing mom because the straps can restrict circulation in a nursing mother's engorged chest tissue which can increase the incidence of breast infections.  Also, the sling allows mom to nurse more on demand because the baby is right next to mom.  This also reduces breast infections. (1988 Study, U.C.L.A. Lactation Department)

                   *All above information used with permission from C.D.M./OTSBH®

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Psychological Advantages...

There are too many to list, but here are a few...

• A randomized controlled test reported in Pediatrics showed that carrying babies in the manner we promote (i.e., baby-wearing) reduces crying and fussiness 43% during the day and 51% at night.

• The less frustrated babies (and less frustrated parents) are, the less often they're victims of child abuse.

• Some level of distress is inevitable and unavoidable for the newborn, but the excessive irritability commonly found in infants prenatally exposed to drugs places extra demands on their parents and other caregivers.  The ability to calm an infant is important for parent/infant attachment.  A calmer, less irritable infant feeds better, is more socially responsive, and more likely to develop better parent/infant relationships.

• A baby is unable to discharge its own energy when it is lying on its back looking at the ceiling or the the inside of a stroller bonnet.  When carried in an OTSBH® the baby shares in your walking, talking, working, playing, and is able to discharge that energy in the most pleasurable way.

• Studies with monkey have shown those deprived of touch have more difficulty coping with stress than those who are held.  Stress is known to cause disease in humans.  Carried babies see and experience the world, they participate with their parent, develop their senses faster, cry less, learn more, and thrive better because they are less bored and more relaxed and secure.

• Carrying these infants in a Baby Holder® not only reduces irritability but protects them from too much environmental stimuli.  According to Dr. Brazelton, each infant has an individual threshold for stimulus which can be used for organization and learning.  Stimulation which exceeds this threshold overloads the infant and sets up defenses which are likely to be costly to future development. (Nugent, 1985)

• Clinical studies have shown frequent carrying makes a baby less prone to undesirable addictions.  Insecurity makes us less able to cope with life's trials appropriately and we substitute by developing unhealthy addictions- everything from alcohol and drugs to overeating, over spending, over working, etc.  A baby in an OTSBH® feeling warmth, pleasure, and a oneness with its parent has little reason to develop an addictive personality.

• A baby raised in a Baby Holder® needs to be carried less when he/she gets older than his/her counterpart who was reared in mechanical devices.  Sling babies are less clingy.  This is because they are more secure and self reliant and confident.  They give their bearer cues that they want to be set down to crawl off and explore and play- rather than tugging on mommy's skirt whining to be picked up.

• As an intervention for prenatally, drug exposed infants, the Baby Holder® helps minimize the negative effects of the drugs on the infant's system.  For example, an infant prenatally exposed to cocaine may experience a period of behavior disorganization after birth which manifests itself as disturbed sleep and irritability. (Chasnoff, Burns & Burns, 1987)  The cumulative forms of environmental modification provided by the OTSBH®: rhythmic motion, reduced light, and curved, supported position seems to have a rapid soothing and stabilizing effect on the baby and are more effective than a single form (e.g., just motion). The infant's sleep periods are extended and symptoms of irritability such as prolonged crying are reduced. (Dr. Linda Perez)

• Older brothers and sisters are more accepting and less jealous of a new arrival when it is carried in an Over the Shoulder Baby Holder®.  This is because mom is not "tied down"  to the baby, and has her hands free so she can give her attention to the other children and the variety of things of which life is made. 

• Despite loud protests from our infants, we have continued to devise gadgets and systems for coping with the protests of our infants being separated from us.  The baby sling offers a simple but ultimately effective way to begin to reconnect with our babies and nurture them in a way that is simple but in the infant's eyes critical to their survival and their development.    

                  *All above information  used with permission from C.D.M./ OTSBH®

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Comparisons to Conventional Carriers (front and back packs)...

• With a conventional carrier, (front and back-type carriers) the weight is carried on the parent's shoulders.  This puts a strain on the neck, shoulders, and lower back.  With the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder®, a child can easily be carried until three years old on the hip.  The weight is easily distributed across the shoulders, back, and hip.

• When carrying a child on the hip, the parent does not have to thrust the hip out to hold the baby: the OTSBH® holds the child up and the parent can stand straight upright for better posture.  The carrier can also be worn on the opposite shoulder to share the load.

• Baby can lie down to sleep or nurse with head supported. This takes the weight of the head off the spine.  Studies have shown upright carriers can permanently harm your babies back and hips.  The Baby Holder® supports the baby's head, follows natural contour of the spine and keeps the legs together.

• Baby's legs are not forced apart while pelvis is soft and forming, promoting bowleggedness.

• Most parents carry their children until they are 2 or 3 years old. As the sling mimics your arms, when your baby reaches about 6 months old you begin carrying your baby in the hip-straddle position. The weight is easily carried because it is distributed over your entire torso, hip, shoulder and back.

• Legs are not put through leg openings which can cut off their circulation.

• No straps to cut into shoulders. Over the Shoulder Baby Holder® has a soft, contoured pillow for your shoulder, but the majority of the weight is distributed all around your torso.

• No straps to press into mom's upper chest circulation to cause breast infections.

• Our sling takes literally 10 seconds to put on and put baby in. Because it is much less complicated to put on, you are more likely to wear it around the house where other carriers are more bother than they are worth. It can be adjusted for various sized parents with one hand in seconds. No belts, buckles, snaps, straps and zippers.

• No rigid frame, leg or arm openings. Our sling conforms perfectly to any person's torso. It fits you, you don't have to fit it.

• Depending on your baby's age or mood, you can change baby's position to whatever makes him happiest.  From facing out, tummy to tummy, laying down or hip straddle position.

• You can lay the baby down without waking him/her up by bending over a crib or couch and simply slipping it over your head with the baby in it.

• The sling is much cooler, even though baby is always right next to mom.  It allows the air to circulate. Baby is not stuffed inside a double layer. The sling fabric is also light weight which breathes unlike nylon, canvas, or corduroy carriers.

• You can pull the fabric of the sling up to nurse discreetly in public, no one's the wiser.

                    *All above information used with permission from C.D.M./OTSBH®

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OTSBH Baby Holder vs. OTSBH Extravagant Love Sling...

• The Baby Holder® and the Extravagant Love Sling™ share the same design and construction.  The Extravagant Love Sling™ offers more exclusive fabric choices such as organic cotton, hand-painted and hand-blocked Bali batiks, and hand tye-dyed fabric. 

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