Baby carriers (view report contents)
About this guide
You are a busy parent with a baby and maybe older children, lots to do and places to get to – and you have a disability. Would a baby carrier help? They are good to use in and out of shops and spots too tight for a pushchair, on country walks and sandy beaches and even at home to soothe a fretting baby when you need to get on with other things.
There are dozens of carriers on the market – different styles, types ways to load the baby. This guide should help you to shortlist those that might suit you, whatever your abilities.
We inspected a few dozen to start with:
- front carriers for a young baby facing you
- front carriers where a slightly older baby can face outwards
- hammock-style slings for newborns through to toddlers
- soft back carriers for older babies
- framed back carriers for older babies and toddlers
From these we selected some of each type for testing. The 12 models chosen had a range of features that you will find in many carriers. Fifty-one parents with disabilities tried them out at home with their babies.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Nuffield Foundation and the Department of Health for funding this guide.
Our thanks go to 51 parents with disabilities and their babies who assessed baby carriers for us.
Report produced by Ricability
Research Lindsey Etchell, Dylan Simanowitz, Guy Brain
Design Sarah Watson
Photography Ginette Chapman
Illustration Cyrus Deboo
Printing WPG Ltd
Ricability is an independent charity that researches and publishes unbiased information on products and services to enable older and disabled people to live more independently
Contact Ricability for further copies of this guide and others in the series – Bottles, warmers and sterilisers and Safety gates in 2002 and more in 2003 and 2004.
30 Angel Gate
City Road
London EC1V 2PT
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7427 2460
Textphone: +44 (0)20 7427 2469
Fax: +44 (0)20 7427 2468
Web-site www.ricability.org.uk
Tape, large print and Braille versions of this guide are available
Parent testers
The 51 disabled parents who assessed carriers for us were mostly young mothers, plus a couple of fathers, an aunt and a grandmother. Twelve able bodied partners also gave us their views.
The parents included wheelchair users, people who walk with difficulty, people with impaired manual dexterity and partially sighted and blind people. The babies varied too, from less than 12lb to about 30lb (5 – 14kg).
All the parents were sent one carrier at a time to try out over a week – most trying four to six in all. They used them around the house and outside. Some used a soft carrier when their babies became too heavy to hold, or up and down stairs to leave their hands free for the banisters. They walked to local places, did shopping, walked when out with the car, on public transport and a few did fairly long country walks. The more they liked a carrier, the more they used it and the further afield they went. Two took a carrier on holiday, where it was well used. A few parents found carriers were not for them – the baby’s weight on chest or back was too painful.
Ricability is grateful to all the parents and babies who took part at a busy time in their lives. Most of the information in this guide is based on their experiences. All the quotes are theirs too.
Report Contents
About this guide
Baby issues
How to choose a carrier
Ability
issues
Types and what to look for
Buying guideGuide to summaries
Front carriers
Slings
Framed back carriers
Keeping safeHelpful Organisations
Suppliers list
