West African baby wearing - carrying your baby or toddler in a cloth

Sherri B. Saines

West African Baby Wearing

I lived for three years in Burkina Faso, a small, landlocked country in West Africa. Because I was a new mother, I quickly adopted many of the culture's relaxed, efficient, and commonsense approaches to child care. Indeed, I had little choice; if I let George cry, the neighbors came running to see what was the matter. It was from the Lobis that I learned the West African cloth method of baby wearing. And ever since, I have been unable to fathom why American women try to cook with one hand and bounce a fussy baby with the other, and why we forever start out pushing a baby in a stroller and carrying a purse, and come home carrying a baby and pushing a purse in a stroller!

Wearing your baby in a cloth, West African style, is simple. The cloth is free of snaps, zippers, and straps, and it provides a custom fit for parent and for child from infancy through toddlerhood. The child rests securely against your body, legs do not dangle, and baby's head does not flop. Your hands are completely free, and baby's hands are tucked safely away from danger. In addition, you know how warm your baby is.... Just as warm as you are! The African cloth is versatile, durable, washable, and inexpensive.

All you need is a piece of cloth 2 yards long by 45 inches wide. Most African cloths are made of colorful, muslin-weight cotton, but any medium-weight cloth will do. After tearing the ends to ensure a straight edge, you can hem the borders--but even unhemmed borders unravel very little. If you buy a special cloth, choose a color or pattern that blends with most of your clothes; you will know it is the right weight if you can tie a knot easily with the two ends. (At times when I have forgotten my cloth, I have used a beach towel, a sheet, or a clean rag.)
After a few months of motherhood, I developed the habit of carrying a cloth or two with me. Wrapped at the waist, the cloth became a skirt of any length. Wrapped at the armpits, it became a bathrobe or bathing-suit cover. Tied behind the neck, it was a sundress. My cloths have served as blankets, sheets, towels, diaper-changing pads, umbrellas, sun shades, picnic clothes, and table-cloths. I am always discovering new uses for my baby wrap.

After returning from Burkina, I experimented with variations on the West African baby-wearing method. Inspired by the rebozo used by Latin American women, the commercial carriers manufactured in the United States, and my own need for quick and easy handling, I have adapted a number of wraps for everyday life in our culture. Mothers and fathers who have used these methods find that they can do their work and still "carry on" as parents.

The Burkina Pack for babies

1. Drape the cloth on a chir or table within arm's reach. hold baby on your hip and, leaning forward from the waist, inch baby around to your back.

2. Still leaning over, hold baby's hand firmly under your armpit, and spread the cloth horizontally over baby's body, up to neck level. (For a newborn, pull the cloth up to ear level to provide head support.)

3. Holding baby's hand firmly in your armpit, grasp the uppermost corners of cloth. Pull tightly, draw the cloth under your arms, and gradually release baby's hand. Knot the corners above your breasts. (Note: someone can support your baby until you become skilled at performing steps 1 through 3 without support.)

4. Tuck the lower edge of cloth under baby's bottom, forming a hammock.

5. Keeping the cloth tight under baby's bottom, grasp the lower corners, pull them over baby's legs, and tie off the ends or tuck them in snugly at your waist. Now straighten up. (Baby should be resting comfortably and securely on your back, with feet sticking out below the cloth on either side of the lower knot.)
You need not worry about baby falling out. You will be able to feel the knots loosening long before they become loose enough for that! If you should fee any loosening, stop what you are doing, lean over, and retie the knots tightly.

Although this carrying method can put pressure on your breasts, it will not hurt, and it will not produce sagging breasts. Baby's weight rides primarily on your hips.

The Burkina Pack for Older Children

1. Follow step 1 above.

2. Still leaning over, spread the cloth up only as far as your child's armpits. (This leaves your child's hands free to explore the world.)

3. Finish off with steps 3, 4, and 5 above.

You will not be able to see what those curious fingers are reaching for, so you will need to remain alert. But do not worry about the durability of the pack; the cloth will hold as much weight as you can carry.

A Pack for Long Carries or Heavier Children

This method engages the shoulder to help support baby's weight and is therefore useful for wearing a heavier child for long periods of time. It is also the preferred method of fathers who are tall, thin, and flat chested.

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above.

2. Grasping the uppermost corners of the cloth, pull one of them over your shoulder, and wrap the other one under your opposite arm. Tie these two ends across your chest, spreading the cloth over your shoulder and partway down your arm to help distribute the weight.

3. Finish with steps 4 and 5, as before. (Baby should be sitting securely, although less snugly, on your back. The only disadvantage is that baby's head movement will be restricted on one side.)

A Quick Wrap

This version works well for running errands that require getting in and out of the car several times, or for fussy days when baby vacillates between wanting to play and wanting to be held.

1. Extend the cloth horizontally in front of you. Grasping two corners in each hand, tie the four ends together in a square knot. The cloth should form a circle which, when suspended from your shoulder and across your chest, hangs down to elbow level. Wear this sling over your shoulder as you go about your day.

2. At carrying time, make sure the knot is behind you, then lift baby over the cloth, and sit baby inside the pocket it forms.

3. Spread the cloth across baby's bottom and up baby's back for support. (Your child should be sitting at hip level, with legs straddling your waist. While you will need one arm to help support your child's back, the other hand will be free to reach for your wallet, your keys, your feather duster, or your paintbrush.)

A Heart-to-Heart Wrap

This front pack, although somewhat more cumbersom while working, is wonderful for strolling, soothing, or simply enjoying eye contact with your child.

1. Tie the cloth around your waist, and knot it in front, making a split skirt.

2. Resting baby on your hip, lift up the corner of cloth that hangs below baby, and wrap it snugly under baby's armpits (from back to front). Supporting baby with your arm and holding the wrapped corner with the same hand, reach for the remaining corner, and pull it over your shoulder (from back to front).

3. Knot these two corners across your chest. (Baby should be resting at hip level, with one foot tucked inside the cloth and the other outside the cloth.)

A Simple Dismount

1. Leaning forward, support baby's bottom with one hand, and untie both knots with the other hand.

2. Swing baby gently around to your hip.

3. If your child is an infant, he or she can be snuggled while you free the cloth. If your child is sleeping, he or she can be set down without awakening, and wrapped warmly in the cloth. If your child is a toddler, he or she can slide gently down your leg--with guidance--until standing alone.

West African baby wearing is not only simple and practical. It is also a way of sharing intercultural joy. One evening, in a neighborhood restaurant, a Burkinabae watched wide-eyed while I deftly wrapped George in my cloth. "It gives me much joy to see a Westerner adopting our customs," he said. "Africa really does have much to offer the world. I am a poet, and I am going to write a poem about you."

For More Information
The Rebozo Way 1513 San Pascual Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805-963-2680
An educational outreach project designed to enhance cross-cultural understanding, this organization offers photo exhibits, workshops, and literature on the rebozo (traditional shawl of Latin American women); baby-wearing demonstrations; and authentic rebozos. In exchange, they provide food, clothing, and income-producing opportunities to mothers in Latin America.

Sherri B. Saines (32) is a poet, author, and at-home mother in Clarion, Pennsylvania. She and her husband Steve (31 1/2), a ground-water geologist, spent three years building dams, digging wells, and teaching health in Burkina Faso, where their first child was born. Their children--George (4 1/2) and Alex (2)--were carried in cloths of many colors.
COPYRIGHT 1990 Mothering Magazine
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group