The correct way to hold a baby The correct way to hold a baby

Many parents who become fathers for the first time are excited and happy, and they want to hold their babies every day. However, they do not know that there are methods and techniques for holding babies. The wrong way of holding a baby will only affect the child's development and is not conducive to his growth. Today, I will introduce to you how to hold a baby correctly.

How to hold a newborn

1. Hand support method: Use your left hand to support the baby's back, neck, and head, and your right hand to support his little butt and waist. This method is more commonly used to pick up and put down the baby from the bed.

2. Wrist holding method: Place the baby's head in the crook of your left arm, with your elbow protecting the baby's head, your left wrist and hand protecting the back and waist, your right forearm extending over the baby's body to protect the baby's legs, and your right hand supporting the baby's buttocks and waist. This method is a more commonly used posture.

3. Don't hold your baby vertically: The head of a newborn baby accounts for 1/4 of the body length. When holding the baby vertically, the weight of the baby's head is all on the cervical spine. When the baby is 1-2 months old, the neck muscles are not fully developed and the neck muscles are weak. This incorrect holding posture should be used to prevent damage to the baby's spine. These injuries are not easy to detect at the time, but may affect the child's future growth and development. Therefore, it is not advisable to hold the baby vertically.

4. Don't hold your baby for too long: People love their children to an incomparable degree, and they don't kiss or love their children enough. They start holding their babies a few days after they are born. However, they don't know that this practice violates the natural law of infant growth and development and is harmful to the baby.

(1) Newborn babies need 20 hours of sleep a day; babies around 6 months old need about 16 hours of sleep. Therefore, except for special circumstances such as feeding and changing diapers, do not hold the baby too much.

(2) Due to physiological characteristics, the stomach and cardia muscles of infants are relatively relaxed, but the pyloric muscles are very tight. In this case, if the infant is held in the arms and played with after breastfeeding or feeding, food can easily overflow from the cardia and cause vomiting.

(3) Babies’ bones grow quickly. If they are held in the arms for a long time, it is extremely detrimental to the normal growth of their bones. It is necessary to hold them outside in the sun from time to time to enhance their immunity, but the time should not be too long.

5. Mother-child communication style: When holding the baby in this way, the mother and baby are face to face, which is most conducive to communication and dialogue between parents and children. The mother can also gently swing the baby in front of her to make the baby more relaxed and happier.

The correct way to hold a baby

0-1 month

To hold horizontally, you can use the wrist holding method or hand holding method

When holding a baby in confinement, be sure to support the baby's head and neck, and make sure the head and hips are in a straight line.

1 month later

Can be held vertically, with the baby lying on your shoulders or facing away from you

After one month or when the head can stand upright, you can hold the baby upright for a short period of time. After three months, you can extend the time of holding the baby upright appropriately.

Three months later

Protect the head and neck when holding a baby

At this point, the baby's neck strength is basically enough to support his head, so you can hold the baby more flexibly.

Several taboos of holding a baby

1. Do not hold the baby while sleeping. When an adult holds the baby, the body will shake from time to time. Although it is very slight, it will affect the baby's sleep quality. The baby's body cannot stretch out comfortably, and it is easy for the baby to become attached to being held while sleeping, which is not conducive to the baby's independent sleep and living habits.

2. Do not hold your baby for strenuous activities. Many adults like to hold their babies and shake or throw them up to make them happy. This will cause damage to various body functions, especially for babies under one year old. Severe cases may cause concussion or brain damage.

3. Do not let the baby stand upright too early. Some parents will let the baby stand upright in their arms for a while. Standing upright too early can cause great harm to the baby's body, especially the baby's neck joints need to bear the pressure of the head.

4. Control the number of times you hold your baby. If you hold your baby too many times or hold the baby as soon as he cries, it will easily cause the baby to develop a habit of holding and crying. You should hold the baby appropriately and put him down when he cries. If he continues to cry, you should divert his attention in other ways.