The Way Jill Duggar Carries Her Baby Stirs Controversy

As uproar rages over 19 and Counting reality star Jill Duggar’s babywearing style with son Israel, Yahoo Parenting taps a sling expert for easy tips to carrying kids correctly. (Photo: Facebook/Duggar Family News)

Oh baby, Jill Duggar has fans in a frenzy again — with many people online saying the way she carried her infant son Israel in a recent picture is dangerous.

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“I’ve gotten a lot of comments concerning how Jill is wearing baby Izzy in this photo,” reads a fan post on the Duggar Family News Facebook page, referring to a picture of the reality star — and husband Derick Dillard at an Institute in Basic Life Principles Conference in Texas on April 25 — showing Duggar sporting a low-slung baby sling. “I am not a sling expert but even I knew right away that Izzy is not safe in that position.”

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As a trained midwife and all around baby expert (considering the 19 Kids and Counting star’s hands-on helping caring for 15-odd kids in her family), a flood of harsh commenters noted that they expected Duggar to be toting then 3-week-old son Israel in a more secure, upright alignment.

Here he is: Israel on April 14 (Photo: Facebook/Derick Dillard).

“What’s a bummer is that lot of manufacturers of slings send pamphlets of instructions that say to wear a baby just like she is doing,” Adriane Stare, certified babywearing educator and owner of New York City’s Wild Was Mama, (formerly Caribou Baby), tells Yahoo Parenting. “The information given to people is lousy. [Duggar is] following her best mom instinct to wear her baby close to her, but the baby is a little too low.” 

And unfortunately, the risks to wearing babywearing incorrectly are grave. A 2010 Consumer Product Safety Commission report that surveyed incident reports from the past 20 years found at least 14 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers.

The safest way to sling an infant isn’t difficult, says Stare, but it takes some practice. The expert shares her top 3 tips.

1. Get snug.
“You want to make sure baby is high and tight,” says Stare. “He should be close enough that you can kiss his head. That’s where it’s going to feel most natural and secure for you. A carrier should honestly feel like a replacement for your arms.” The benefit of having baby at your chest rather than hips is that you can easily monitor how they’re doing, she adds. “Can he breathe easily? Too hot or cold? You’re much more in tune with him.”

Photo: International Hip Dysplasia Institute

2. Chin up.
“The real risk of misusing a baby carrier is compromising breathing,” says Stare. “There’s a lot of controversy over legs, hips and how they should be positioned but the only research we have is on compromised airways.” To ensure that getting air isn’t an issue, check that you can see baby’s face clearly, make sure there’s no fabric in his face and that his chin is off of his chest. “Chin-to-chest position puts a kink in airway that’s only size of a spaghetti strand to begin with and it creates labored breathing that runs the risk of suffocation.”

3. No slouching.
 A tummy-to-tummy position is easier to safely achieve than a cradle-carry position, says Stare, who recommends the former to support baby’s spine and neck, as well as breathing ease. The bonus? According to Babywearing International, “Babies carried upright show much better head control earlier than those not carried or carried in a cradle carry, which is considered a forced position.”

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