This morning I had to speak out. Since 2011 I do have to speak out. I don’t ignore and walk on by – I can’t.
Today this picture of the babykeeper basics was shown on the Netmums facebook timeline it is also being discussed on the website – what are your first impressions?
My first impressions may be different to yours. I see immature hips being put under stress. Erin’s story of DDH is well documented but I have only touched the surface of Educating others. This contraption is being marketed as a tool to help mums be hands free in toilets, swimming cubicles or other such places. Have you managed without one – three children down and I certainly never thought that hanging my children on a door would solve a problem. The only time I have ever struggled to go to the toilet with a baby was on a train when Erin was in spica – that was near impossible!
When we hold a baby we craddle them, support their neck because we understand how fragile they are. Yet it is not only their neck that is weak, their hips are also also under developed at this stage babies hips need to be not restricted to allow their hip sockets to develop. Using tight swaddles, keeping a baby in a car seat too long and crotch dangler baby carriers do not allow for good hip development. I don’t believe that they cause hip dysplasia as not all babies get it but for immature hips it puts the hip joint under greater pressure.
When I explained about DDH I was met with comments like this (not directed only at me but still….). Yet it is not only us DDH mums frightened by this product. Many others commented on the dangers it exposes or just wether there is an actual need as Emma questioned.
‘Ok so this can result in hip problems by sitting a child on your knee with legs either side wouldn’t? Seriously some of you are bringing your kids up in a world of bubble wrap by the sounds of it. No I wouldn’t use this but some of your excuses are petty. Why not just say because I don’t like it . . . Simple’
‘Emma Bradley yes if baby has already something wrong with their hips then yes it’s very unsafe for them.. And yes if having them in the door bouncer all the time then yes that also is very unsafe but whilst your in your room hanging up some clothes where’s the problem in that..’
‘ I only clicked on this article to laugh at all the over-reactions from the over-opinionated and over-protective commenters. I’ve enjoyed reading!’
This one upset me the most with the most stupid attitude.
WOW SO MANY QUICK JUDGES!!
And as for door bouncers they r only UNSAFE if you DONT watch them like whoever on here is moaning about them being unsafe!! Ill have you all know not ONE of my 3 kids have been hurt on a door bouncer nor any family from way back, never fallen out nothing you no why because i watch them and around the velcro they have a clip stuipd? lol not rocket science now isit!! As for this it’s funny but no I wouldn’t use it I can multi task!
How can someone say because something hasn’t happened to their child the problem doesn’t exist?? How can I educate more people to DDH. Why are the general public and the professionals that advise parents, like health visitors so uneducated about DDH?
The IDHI offers practical advice and suggestions of how to carry a baby safely. Ergo is a recommended make for carriers and I have written about safe swaddling previously. Today I was surprised by how scathing some of my comments were taken. I don’t wish the hell of DDH on anyone, as living with DDH is unglossy and bloody challenging. Yet people seem to believe that it can’t happen to them. Well let me remind and educate you that it can. Erin fits none of the typical markers for being born with DDH apart from being a girl, she wasn’t breech, she wasn’t first born and to buggar all the theories it is her right leg that is affected rather than the left. But what I will tell you is that it has robbed Erin of an easy childhood. Seven times she has gone to theatre, 24 weeks spent in spica and still she has pain and a leg length difference.
We all need to be educated about promoting healthy hips and bone development. I will continue to speak out and hopefully more people will begin to understand that crotch danglers do not help with babies development.
9 Responses
Don’t understand the commenter who said about having them on your knee with legs either side of you. That and baby wearing are healthy for hip FLEXIBILITY.
I have seen a child who spends most of his time sitting in house or in car seat and he has NO hip flexibility whatsoever!
So there is the other side of the coin.
Don’t know if what I am explaining makes sense.
I am NOT advocating the product at all but merely replying to some of the commenters.
I guess I am addressing the point of East meets West, i.e. sitting in a cross legged position versus the Western way of sitting in a chair.
It is imperative that toddlers have hip flexibility.
The child I am talking about falls over whenever we are in the park as it effects his mobility!
Liska x
You have every right to speak out as you have experience and knowledge on this subject. I fear that people often really enjoy ripping other people, it has become a hobby for them.
I can see that there is often the need for something in loo’s etc, but many UK ones are learning have a little seat you can strap your child too. I wish people would be more understanding.
However, this has happened are there are people out there who comp[alin about anything and everything they disagree with without giving any alternatives or any understanding on why people might feel the need to use something like this.
Great blog.
I was trying to comment on their too but the mums are so warped and stupid they just don’t understand.. And they also don’t want to read the truth when presented with the facts!!
Firstly I have to say this contraption looks ridiculous… who on earth would use this?!
We had a DDH scare with my first at his 6 week check and had to go back to the drs a few weeks later for a further checkup. Luckily it was nothing but just the scare of it put me into panic mode and made me look at how I could help, how its caused etc I did still use a jumper but for short periods of time and I did swaddle…as I do now with my 6 week old but couldn’t imagine binding their hips either.
These people who followed up your comment show the ‘i know better’ attitude of most uneducated people these days. Its not about wrapping your kids in cotton wool, its about looking after them for the sake of their health. As for the woman who thinks things don’t happen because they didn’t happen to her, she needs a wake up call. She’s the kind of unhelpful person this world doesn’t need (on a number of subjects!)
Well done you for bringing the subject up, even if just a few people look at your comment and wander what its all about and look it up, you may have helped their child.
I wanted to respond to this comment:
‘Emma Bradley yes if baby has already something wrong with their hips then yes it’s very unsafe for them.. And yes if having them in the door bouncer all the time then yes that also is very unsafe but whilst your in your room hanging up some clothes where’s the problem in that..’
As many many moms and dads with babies who have DDH (myself included) will tell you, you do not always know right away if something is wrong with their hips. As a matter of fact some people are not diagnosed until adulthood when the chronic arthritis sets in. We went to every well baby appointment, she was checked at each one yet her doctor didn’t feel anything off until 4 months old. Many other babies are not diagnosed until much later after much damage has already been done.
As Emma stated, these things (carriers that dangle babies at the crotch or tight swaddling) do not cause DDH. But I am a firm believer that they can and do make things worse. There is close to no information out there in your normal mommy to be circles (doctors included) about DDH. I had never heard of it. Her doctor knew close to nothing about it. It wasn’t until going to the orthopedic doctor and reading specifically about DDH online that I learned of the dangers of tight swaddling and some carriers. By that point I had spent 4 months very tightly swaddling her as all I ever heard was that swaddling was good, it reminded them of the womb and the tighter the better. The only dangers I heard of were the blankets getting loose and suffocating her. So what does any responsible mom that doesn’t want her baby to suffocate do? Swaddle that baby as tight as you can so that there is no way the blankets can get loose! Also I found out after the fact that the carrier I had been using was the worst for hip development. How the heck is a person supposed to know that??!!
The issue is lack of knowledge. Now ok if you only put baby in something like this once in a blue moon MAYBE it wouldn’t do damage but I don’t know. I mean their hips are not fully developed. The bone is not hard therefore it seems as though it would be fairly easy for it to slip further out of socket if it is already partially out. But let me ask you this, why in the world would you be willing to risk it. Maybe it seems like no big deal to you but ask these moms who have had to hand their crying baby off to a nurse to be put under anesthesia and cut into then casted rendering them immobile for who knows how long (that’s right even the best of doctors cannot tell you a certain end date) only to have the procedure fail and have to start over at square one, ask them if it’s no big deal and worth the risk. Trust me, it’s not.
Great points Emma, while neither of my children have hip problems I am aware of the need to carry them properly and other mums should be aware too.
What horrifies me most about this contraption is the fact that people think that it is ok to simply hook your baby over a door!! What stops someone from unhooking it by mistake from the other side? What happens if the changing room door cannot support the weight? But who am I to judge? Maybe that new dress they are trying on is worth it?!
OW that looks really uncomfortable and I don’t think I’d feel safe leaving a baby in there. It wouldn’t have taken that much for them to put a little seat in there!
How ridiculous, it reminds me of the hooks that I have on my daughters door to hang her dressing gown, and this has slid off the door on quite a few occasions, I am sure a baby would weigh much more than a few items of clothes!!!