Squat and spread position: why it's important when carrying your baby

Whether you're at home, out for a walk, strolling through town or on vacation, carrying your baby close to you is wonderful. Carrying connects, conveys closeness, is uncomplicated, super practical and, what's more, it's healthy for the baby.

However, in order to carry your baby correctly in a carrier, be it in a Baby Wrap or a Baby Carrierit should absolutely always be carried in the Anhock-Spreiz posture sit.

What exactly this is and why this posture is so important, we explain to you in the following:

 

What is the squat-straddle posture?

The tuck-and-spread position is a natural position for newborns. When you put a baby on his back or pick him up, he automatically pulls his legs together so that his legs are spread apart. knees at the level of its belly button and the thighs thereby slightly spread are slightly apart. This posture is made for carrying the baby.

This stems from the fact that human children are evolutionary born baby carriers are born to carry. It is also practical that the baby's hips assume an ideal position during carrying in order to develop healthily. That's why you can carry your baby in the tuck-and-spread position from birth.

By the way, this special position is also called M-position, because from behind you can see a big M: foot, knee, bottom, knee, foot.

What does the correct squat-and-spread position look like in concrete terms?

To give you an even clearer understanding of the squat-straddle posture, the following picture will help. Here you can easily see what the correct posture looks like. Pay particular attention to the points already described: Height of the knees and the spread of the thighs. It also shows what it looks like when the squat-splay posture is not ensured. Then the baby's legs hang down in the stretched position.

 

Why is the squat-to-spread posture important?

Carrying the baby in the correct tuck-and-spread position supports the natural posture and maturation of the hips and spine.

This is because, among other things, the baby's hips are not yet fully developed after birth. Only after birth do the femur and acetabulum find their correct structure as part of the ossification process.

Carrying your baby in the tuck-and-spread position promotes this maturation process so that the baby's hip can form without deformities. It is therefore extremely important that your Baby Carrier can support this posture, which, by the way, is important for all KOKADI is the case with all stretchers.

On this fact, and in what way the carrying in a Baby Carrier is also beneficial, is discussed in more detail in Melli's article: Carrying from an occupational therapy perspective.

 

How do I set up my Baby Carrier in such a way that the squat-spread posture is guaranteed?

The most important thing in order to wear in the anhock spread posture is to adjust the bar of your Baby Carrier.

This is effectively the back piece that is attached to the hip belt. The bar defines the width of the "carrying bag". It is therefore always located between your baby's legs and should always be from the back of the knee to the back of the knee of your baby, no longer, no shorter.

If the bar fits, the ergonomically correct squat-to-spread posture is also guaranteed.

You can easily control yourself: Put your baby in the carrier (Baby Wrap or Baby Carrier) and stand in front of the mirror. Do your baby's legs and bottom form a big M and can your baby swing his legs freely? If so, everything is set correctly and your baby is sitting in the correct squat-splay position. If not, check the bar.

For more details on how to adjust your Baby Carrier KOKADIS Babywearing Consultation an.

 

The biggest carrying mistakes that stand in the way of the tuck-and-spread posture

Finally, we would like to talk about the main mistakes that prevent the squat-spread posture. Knowing how, these can be avoided quite easily.

  • This includes, on the one hand, as previously described, if the bar is not adjusted correctly. If it does not go from popliteal fossa to popliteal fossa, the squat-to-spread posture is not automatically given.
  • On the other hand, an incorrect way of wearing the brace prevents the anhock-spread posture: If you carry your child with his face forward.. Please do not do this. This not only prevents the squat-straddle posture, but is not good for your baby's back and also leads to a sensory overload for your child. You can find more information about this in the article: Why you should never carry face forward.

 

Final words

We hope you now know what the tuck-and-spread position is, why it's important, and what it's all about. Now you can enjoy carrying to the fullest and enjoy everyday life together and close to each other.

I am Jenny from Heart Parents. I am a mother of two wonderful daughters myself and we have discovered the love of babywearing since our first child. Since then, we have been able to gain a lot of experience, which we also share on our site. There we write about topics around family life. The topic of babywearing is one of them. Feel free to visit us.https://www.herzenseltern.de/