Yes, I’ve seen it everywhere across Europe — so many African women pushing a pram, often a rather tall one. I wonder if there’s a reason for that. I’m an African woman myself who is absolutely hopeless with a stroller. After walking so often with my own babies in a wrap, I started to wonder how African families back home actually get around with a baby in Europe. Do they even know carrying is an option here, or is it a norm in the West too? Do they carry indoors, out of sight?
Every time I have a baby on my back, I get warm reactions, and plenty of questions from people who’ve never seen this way of carrying before. Western people often wonder: is it really good for the baby’s legs? Aren’t you afraid the baby could suddenly fall? Doesn’t it hurt your back? How long can you carry a baby like that? Up to what age, and from what age can you even start? And many more questions, which shows how unfamiliar people simply are with it.
I usually answer with an example — think of runners from Africa, think of how rarely you see hip problems among elderly people there. Those questions are fair enough, given how little babywearing is known in Europe. A freshly postpartum mother here typically reaches for a pram — she was never taught differently, and rarely sees other parents using a carrying system.
What do African parents themselves say, including expats and diaspora? Among all the admiring comments, there are African women who occasionally add remarks like: “I only do this at home, for practical reasons.” “How brave of you to walk down the street with a wrap.” “My grandmothers did this too, back in the countryside” (you hear this a lot from people from West Africa or South America). “Is that even allowed here in Europe, carrying a baby like that?” “I didn’t know you could just do this outside, why doesn’t anyone here do it then?” And on and on it goes.
What it comes down to is that African people or the diaspora in general have often never even considered how positive carrying your baby truly is. Many simply think of it as something to get through so they can get back to work. They were never taught that carrying your baby is actually one of the very best ways to bond. Somewhere along the way, people were made to believe carrying a baby is a sign of poverty, which is exactly why the pram became the standard in the West. In Africa, meanwhile, people sometimes assume everything from the West must be better — could it actually be the other way around?
Why choose a taller pram at all? Is it because people are used to the baby always being at eye level back in Africa? That would make sense. I’ve started telling the Africans I know that they’re more than welcome to walk out the door with a carrying cloth. Nothing is more natural than how we practise it in Africa — just like animals, who need nothing more than nature itself provides.
