Welcome

Thank you for taking part in the Carrying Matters babywearing consultancy course. I have been training peer supporters for many years with Born to Carry, and many of them have gone on to become consultants!

This course is focused mostly on giving you the skills to be an effective and supportive consultant in a carrying/babywearing/advocacy context. There are many other excellent babywearing consultancy courses with their own individual niche, I have done many of them myself and loved them. This course draws on my years of experience as a babywearing consultant and also as a practicing doctor for over 20 years. I have consulted with a lot of clients and patients over my working life and have learned a lot about effective communication and training from this. My colleague Kiri has worked alongside me and independently as a highly effective babywearing consultant on a daily basis for years and is very familiar with the process. We felt there was a need for a course that covered a wide range of topics and would equip people to feel competent with the day to day running of a consultancy.

Practical skills with individual carriers are of high importance and will be covered in this course. However, these skills can be worked on daily in your own time and your competence will grow with repeated practice. “Soft” skills such as consulting skills, communication, problem solving, managing complex or challenging situations, dealing with the day in/day out logistics of working consultancy are harder to gain and these are a major focus of this training. The majority of consulting time does not involve complex techniques or unusual carriers, but the ability to listen and communicate effectively, create meaningful connections, forge trusting relationships and build confidence, using an excellent knowledge of the basics and the ability to be creative to find solutions, solve problems, or simply hold space. Ultimately, this will lead to the effective transference of skills and knowledge to someone else that enriches their lives and the lives of children, and leaves both parties with a sense of satisfaction and positive connection.

This online “day” is focused on covering the science behind carrying, safe sling use, and how to support people with a range of common situations, such as carrying in the postnatal period, during pregnancy, carrying multiples, working with tiny babies, older kids, as well as families with extra needs and much more.

We will learn how to “consult” with people, think about how to prepare and run a consult, communication skills and what to do when things seem to be going wrong.

There is a section on how to use the most common carrier types. Please work your way through all the videos, practising yourself with your own carriers and demo dolls. We will expect you to attend the Zoom parts of the course with a good level of competency – there will not be time to learn how to use a woven wrap from scratch, for example. The more you have put in the more you will get out of the time with us!

We will also have a look at some of the practicalities of setting up your own business – there will be a chance to discuss all this throughout the Zooms and the in person weekend.

At the end of our time together, I hope you will feel that you are able to offer a competent, holistic service to the families and clients you work with, with a openness to parent and child-led interactions and a goal of providing safe, effective, comfortable and individualised carrying that meets their particular needs.

Let’s get started!