1-048 - Keep on carrying on: Effects of carrying on infant nutrition, motor development, and social interaction

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In the U.S., infants spend much of their time in cribs, car seats, and strollers. This lack of being carried in direct contact with caregivers is unprecedented and unmatched by most human societies. Mothers in the U.S. carry or are in physical contact with infants for only 18% of the day in comparison with communities in Africa where mother-infant contact occurs 79% and 99% of the day. It is well established that skin-to-skin contact positively impacts infant health and development. Yet much less is known about the effects of infant carrying – without direct skin-to-skin contact.

We explore the effect of infant carrying on early nutrition (Paper 1), motor development (Paper 2), and social interaction (Paper 3). Paper 1 presents a randomized infant carrying intervention with low-income Latina mothers, finding that use of infant carriers increases likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding and decreases perceptions of perceived insufficient milk. Paper 2 provides experimental evidence for increased musculoskeletal activity (beneficial for motor development) when infants are in carriers versus when supine or in car seats. Paper 3 documents the results of a randomized infant carrying intervention with adolescent mothers, showing that carrying facilitates increased maternal social engagement and improved infant social behaviors.

Because infant devices like strollers and car seats are so ubiquitous in Western, urban contexts, developmental research often neglects this component of the infant’s social ecology. Our findings motivate continued research on the implications of infant carrying, which will be explored in a discussion with the audience facilitated by our international discussant.

Sub Unit

• Prevention and Interventions

Chair

• Emily Elysia Little, Nurturely

Discussant

• Ann Bigelow, St. Francis Xavier University

Individual Presentations

• Does infant carrier use increase breastfeeding exclusivity? A randomized controlled trial with low-income Latina mothers - Presenting Author: Emily Elysia Little, Nurturely; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Bain, Project Concern International; Non-Presenting Author: Cristine H Legare, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, University of California, Merced

• Infant positioning impacts muscle activity: Implications for proper musculoskeletal and motor development - Presenting Author: Erin Mannen, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Non-Presenting Author: Akshay Krishnan, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Non-Presenting Author: Stewart Tackett, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Non-Presenting Author: Richard McCarthy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Non-Presenting Author: David Bumpass, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

• The impact of infant carrying on infant social development: Infant-mother interactions during the still-face task - Presenting Author: Lela Rankin Williams, Arizona State University