Explore the Carrying Matters training courses.

Do you love babywearing and want to know more about it, or be able to support others with their sling use? Then a training course could be just what you need!

Available Training

I believe that all parents should have access to information about safe and comfortable babywearing as part of the standard antenatal and postnatal care offered to them by statutory bodies. There are different types of training, here is a helpful summary,

Online Theory Course

This is like the MCQ part of learning to drive - covers basic theory of why babywearing is important and the basics of safety (based on national guidance). It is all online, no practical element. This is a good option for those wanting to know more but will not have any active role in advising families. More below.

Safety and Signposting Course

This is like the hazard awareness course of learning to drive. It includes the basic theory of babywearing benefits and the basics of safety (based on national guidance), and has a short (2-3hr) practical element learning how to spot common issues with slings/carriers (the hazards) and how to support parents/caregivers to keep their children safe and signpost to local/further resources for hands on support/fitting etc. This is focused for those working with new parents, particularly in the health and social care sectors, who do not plan to fit carriers to parents/caregivers directly. More below.

Peer Supporter Course

This course is will teach you how to drive! It is the course you need if you will be working with families, showing them how slings work, helping them to put their own carriers on safely (as well as any you have in your collection/library etc), helping them to use them in different ways, troubleshooting common issues and offering guidance about alternatives/lending carriers. This course includes the theory of babywearing benefits, and an in depth (6hr) practical section working with a range of carriers I am willing to consider occasional commissioned face-to-face peer supporter courses within a reasonable radius from Sheffield, please get in touch to enquire. I am unfortunately no longer offering regular in-depth remote peer supporter training courses due to my own increasing NHS workload and other responsibilities, as well as my belief that as more public bodies begin to consider offering babywearing support, this training must be face-to-face to ensure high quality and effective transference of skills at a time of vulnerability for new families. I am training one of my colleagues to offer a high quality face to face Peer Supporter course in Sheffield from Summer 2026. Please do get in touch if you wish to register interest. Please see the list of affiliated Carrying Matters trainers for other options in alternative parts of the UK.

Consultancy course

This would be the equivalent of the advanced driving course. My consultancy courses have always involved face to face, hands-on training, which has always been of paramount importance to me. Unfortunately I am no longer offering this course due to limitations on my time and my own NHS workload.

Building Bonds Project

The Building Bonds Project is going strong with the recent grant from the National Lottery (providing access to babywearing support and high quality carriers to families in need) - I remain very involved with this, and I am always happy to offer advice and guidance from my experience - please feel free to contact the Project with queries.

Group Courses

Courses can be commissioned for groups, and purchase orders for the NHS/councils etc can be raised, please get in touch to enquire about booking and prices.

Babywearing theory and sling/carrier safety - online course, £49

This online course is a comprehensive introduction to babywearing theory and safety, which will give an excellent grounding for becoming an advocate for carrying behaviour and how slings can help promote health and wellbeing. It is a deep exploration of the science around connection, child development, infant mental health, anatomy, physiology, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, anthropology and more! It also provides a brief introduction to the major types of carrier. This is open to everyone, and can be completed at your leisure. There are short tests of your knowledge as you proceed through the course and a final assessment to complete the course for a certificate of online learning.

This will suit many people who wish to enhance their knowledge and understanding, become evidence-based babywearing advocates, be able to signpost to local libraries with more confidence, and are not planning to offer in-person support to families on a regular basis.
This course is not timed, and can be done at your own schedule and to your own pace.
Please be aware that this course is not a Peer Supporter or Consultancy course and the certificate cannot be presented as such.
This course is not sufficient on its own for anyone planning to offer any form of movement classes with babies in slings.

[/vc_column_text]Enrol onto the Theory and Safety Course (£49)

Sling and Carrier safety and signposting course for organisations working with parents – hybrid online and practical course, will be available late spring/early summer – £75

This hybrid course is a combination of an adapted introduction to babywearing theory and safety course, exploring how slings can help promote health and wellbeing, alongside a thorough look at the key features of keeping babies safe in slings and carriers and how to recognise and avoid risks. It also provides a brief introduction to the major types of carrier via video, and there are quizzes to assess understanding. This is followed by a practical session (in person or remote) to see good carrying in action, discuss how to check carriers for use, practice identifying suboptimal positioning and learning how to engage families in conversation. You will learn how to give general advice, answer common questions from parents (eg feeding, sleeping, temperature, facing out, duration of sling use etc) and how to signpost to appropriate services who can offer in-person support and fitting.

This course is particularly suitable for organisations who work with antenatal and postnatal families, wishing to be able to offer basic safety advice and are not planning to offer in-person one to one support to families with their own slings.

Please be aware that this course is not a Peer Supporter or Consultancy course and the certificate cannot be presented as such.
This course is not sufficient on its own for anyone planning to offer any form of movement classes with babies in slings.

Structure of the hybrid course

Online – Why Carrying Matters – the science about why using slings is so beneficial for families
Online – Basic Babywearing Safety
Online – The Different Types of Slings
Online – Assessment Module (to confirm learning)
Half day (2-3 hrs) in person training with a Carrying Matters trainer to consolidate learning
Assessment MCQ to assess competence, if passed, will be issued with a certificate of learning.

Enquire/register interest when course is live

Feedback

Rosie you are an inspirational teacher, it was a pleasure to have met you and learned from your wealth of experience!

K.M.

I really enjoyed it. I have learnt a lot. I liked the way it was structured and the friendly manner things were taught in. I felt supported throughout and never felt stupid about lack of knowledge which was great. It made me eager to learn much more.

A.E.

“Your course is incredible! Far, far more than a course about babywearing. There is neurology, cognitive development, sociology, psychology and attachment theory (so far), all woven together with the theme of carrying and the early environment. I am absolutely loving working my way through. These are all the themes I am so interested in.”

C.S.

Thank you for such a truly amazing course I came away a much more confident person and I learnt a lot from the course. I have been raving about it since.

Z.S.

I’d highly recommend any enthusiast to attend this course. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and look forward to being able to use this new knowledge to help more parents discover the benefits of babywearing, as I have.

R.T.

What a wonderful course! Packed full of information and learning. Rosie knows a staggering amount and is so enthusiastic and inspiring.

J.T.

Rosie was fab – really brilliant. I remain in awe of her skill in teaching and working with new mums sensitively yet safely.

E.S.

“I thoroughly enjoyed Rosie’s online theory course on babywearing. It was easy to use and navigate online. As well as the written word, there were informative videos and links to other articles to read covering many varieties of slings and carriers, how to wear them and troubleshooting. The course started by talking through why carrying matters and the science behind it, all so important to know and understand when helping new parents. An introduction to babywearing safety and the role of the peer supporter are also included and have the perfect level of detail. Overall I found the course very informative and easy to break down into manageable sections to work through at my own time. I feel fully informed and now understand why carrying matters, the different options available and the importance of safety when carrying. I feel much better informed to be able to support parents with their carrying journey.”

C.C

“The detail in the course was very helpful and interesting- I think the evidence-base and history of baby wearing is so important, particularly as a health professional so we can inform parents fully about why it is a good practice that we should encourage and why society can cause us to have conflicting perceptions.”

R.C.

It was a fantastic course! I learnt so much and came away feeling really confident. I am so looking forward to putting my new knowledge and skills in to action.

R.E.

“I really enjoyed trying different carriers. I found the trouble shooting sections particularly interesting and fun. I learnt a lot and feel more confident with all carriers and especially with how to wrap a new born.
I really loved it and now want to do the consultant training even more. Rosie was clearly very enthusiastic and dedicated and made everything so interesting. She was pretty inspiring.”

“Everything I had hoped for was met, I feel like a peer supporter now, not just someone who loves slings!”

“Rosie was born to teach people. Simply fantastic in the way information was relayed. Would highly recommend.”

“The whole day was so good! A key element was the ability to see and try so many different types of slings and to have time to go through basic principles regarding how to use them all. The role play aspects where we were able to troubleshoot carrier problems was also very useful.”

“Hi Rosie, I couldn’t go to bed without sending you a note to say a huge thank you for the course today. I’ve never felt more included and welcome and I’m so thrilled I came along. Thank you for your hospitality and brilliant teaching, I’m raving about babywearing to my husband and cannot wait to volunteer at a meet soon.”

“I loved the content of the day, the discussions, playing with different slings, learning new ways of slinging, wrapping etc. The course was well run, well organised and I felt empowered to speak, share and question.”

“I feel much more confident in my knowledge of both the benefits of babywearing, and how to go about enabling parents.”

“I really enjoyed meeting other like minded people. I liked the theory of babywearing as it related closely to the work I do as Breastfeeding Lead in the NHS. I enjoyed trying all the different slings and carriers and understanding in what situations they would be used.”

“My personal learning aims were met, it exceeded my expectations. I found the course was extremely enjoyable and covered so much subject matter but was not overwhelming. My aims were well and truly met. I now believe I could give a new babywearer good/correct advice and help in ways I was unsure about prior to the course.”

“Having someone with your experience and knowledge available all day to ask questions and watch demo was incredible. I really enjoyed the contextual and historical information about Babywearing and what led us all into that room that day. It put everything into the ‘bigger picture’ and made me feel such a part of the huge Babywearing community. Having such a massive amount of slings in the room to try and compare was utterly invaluable – such a rare opportunity. I thought the balance between practical and theory was absolutely spot on. As someone who’s very interested in the sociopolitical aspects of Babywearing I was really pleased to see this covered in the course and really appreciated that you placed Babywearing so firmly in this context during the day.”

“The course really opened my eyes to consider the needs of individuals and how essential it is to be inclusive and approachable and gave me the tools to do this confidently (especially regarding narrow base carriers). It was useful to be shown how to exaggerate movements and words when teaching and to have the opportunity to practice this. Rosie’s enthusiasm was infectious and made the whole day very engaging. The size of the group worked well and I especially enjoyed how well we all got on.”