Types of improper child carrying

Abstract

Introduction: In the first months of the child’s life, the spine is not ready to adopt and keep the upright body posture and to control the position of the body axis during locomotion. However, the authors’ clinical observations show that it is common to carry children in the first year of their lives in a way that could be a potential source of overload of the locomotive organ. Aim: The purpose of the work is to present the most common, incorrect ways of carrying infants and presenting their clinical consequences. Material and methods: Using the keywords ‘carrying children,’ ‘stacking babies,’ ‘moving babies,’ ‘carrying an infant,’ ‘stacking infants,’ ‘moving infants,’ the following databases were searched: Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Clinical Key. Works published after 1990 were searched. Results and discussion: The most frequently observed mistakes when carrying a baby include: excessive bending of the lower limbs resulting in lumbar spine kyphosis, carrying the child facing the parent with the head rotated to one side, carrying the child facing the carer with the head in hyperextension and shoulders in protraction, carrying an infant face down on the forearm and the so-called ‘carrying on the hip.’ Conclusions: Incorrect carrying an infant can affect the incorrect stimulation of a child’s psychomotor development.