In this article we explain why you don’t have to carry your baby ‘world facing’ in order to meet their developmental needs, even if your baby is particularly nosey or inquisitive. We show how babies in woven wraps can get a full experience of the world even when facing in towards you.

To do this we draw upon Tamsin’s decade of knowledge as a babywearing consultant, and Jen’s understanding of early infant development as a psychotherapist.

What is a world facing carry, and why do people want to do it?

• In a ‘world facing ‘or ‘front facing’ carry (like the image above), your baby sits in the carrier facing away from you. This gives them roughly the same view as you but from a lower position.
• The types of carriers that offer world facing options have to be specially designed in order to hold your baby in the correct, safe position. This is because it takes more effort to maintain a good ergonomic positioning of their hips and spine when you hold the baby facing away from you, whereas that optimum position happens almost automatically when you carry them facing inwards.
• They generally also have time and weight limits for these sorts of carries because it isn’t as easy for them to provide the support in this position. You’ll know from supporting your baby in your arms that they feel slightly heavier to hold facing out than when they’re facing towards you.
• The ability to do ‘world facing’ carries is heavily focused on in the marketing of mainstream carriers, and the ones that offer this option will often be a bit more expensive. This can lead to the assumption that it is an essential feature of a carrier.
• Many types of soft structured carriers can have quite bulky straps and restrictive back panels which don’t offer the baby a brilliant view of the world compared with woven wraps, so offering a world facing option can help to solve that problem for those carrier manufacturers.

Are we suggesting that people shouldn’t carry babies ‘world facing’ ?

Not at all! We don’t think there is anything wrong with world facing carries if you want to use them, they’re a perfectly good way of carrying your baby when if you follow the guidance.

We’re just demonstrating why it isn’t an essential thing to do, (especially in woven wraps as they naturally offer babies a better world view) and how IN FACT, carries facing towards you can actually give your baby a better experience of the world.

So your very nosey, inquisitive baby may actually be better stimulated by a carry where they face your chest, even though that might sound counter intuitive! Let us explain…

How can carries that face into my body give my baby a good view of the world?

• Your baby can actually see a lot more from that position than you think- they only have to angle their body slightly to see all round you. Typically their ability to turn and support their own body naturally increases in line with their developing field of vision and growing curiosity, so that when they’re ready to see more, they can do.

⦁ You can see each other. You are probably the most important part of their world, which ironically they can miss out on when ‘world facing’. Babies don’t exist in isolation, they’re part of a ‘dyad’ – a partnership between them and their carer. Just as their body was grown inside a human body, so their brain continues to develop inside this relationship.

They use your understanding of the world to process the things they see, so the world becomes more meaningful for them when you experience it together. Seeing the world is only one part of the puzzle, they also need to make sense of it through their interaction with you. By being able to see each others’ faces you can pick up on cues and direct each others’ attention. This communication helps to build language, and provide a framework for babies to interpret their experiences.

⦁ Facing in towards you provides babies with control over their interaction with the outside world. Being able to decide when to engage and when to take a break from looking around helps to build their independence and confidence.

How do I make sure my baby has the best view possible?

• Are you sure they actually need to see more right now? Babies can struggle to deal with transitions from one physical state to another (eg  bath time, naptime, feelings of hunger, relief of being comforted etc). Putting young babies in a carrier often actually triggers them to feel tired and this new feeling can make them fuss or wriggle more until they relax into it. It is easy to mistake their difficulty in managing this change as a need for stimulation. Seeing more at this point will distract and delay the transition but that isn’t necessarily what they need.
• Choose the right carry. Carries like the front wrap cross carry (FWCC) give your baby a fairly unobstructed view of both you and the outside world. The top passes can be spread or bunched. The semi FWCC  is another good option. Generally all woven wrap carries will give your baby a better view than a restrictive or bulky structured carrier.
• Adapt the carry as they grow. As your baby develops their own core strength, you can carry them with their arms out of the horizontal pass, allowing them to turn their body much further if needed.
• See the world together. Angle yourself slightly side on to the thing that you’re both looking at- that way you can both see!

Woven Wrap Baby Carriers

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