Jill Duggar’s mother has raised 19 kids, but some 19 Kids and Counting fans are worried that Michelle Duggar didn’t teach her 23-year-old daughter the proper way to wear a baby sling.
The Duggar Family News: Life is not all pickles and hairspray Facebook page recently shared a photo that shows Jill Duggar wearing a ring sling , and many commenters pointed out that Jill appears to have her infant son, Israel David Dillard, in a potentially dangerous position — he’s down too low, and his face isn’t visible. You can see the photo of Jill below. Pickles and Hairspray also shared the photo on the right that depicts a mother demonstrating the proper way to wear a ring sling .
“Ugh! Slings are fine if baby is properly positioned, but she might as well have put him in her purse. Babies can suffocate that way and his body isn’t being supported well at all,” one Pickles and Hairspray commenter wrote.
“You would think after having 82 siblings and being a midwife she would know how to use a sling properly,” another commented.
Other concerned Pickles and Hairspray Facebook followers offered Jill Duggar a little advice on how to wear a ring sling right.
“She needs to raise that sling up about a foot, he’s supposed to be laying across her chest, not her waist.”
“The problem is that the baby is horizontal in the carrier, potentially collapsing its airway – like laying in a hammock. The baby is also far too low in the carrier, which is bad for her c-sec incision, and dangerous for baby (too low = too difficult for mama to monitor breathing).”
A few commenters mentioned the T.I.C.K.S. checklist for safe babywearing. According to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) website, the checklist was developed by the Consortium of UK Sling Manufacturers and Retailers. It advises a parent wearing a sling to follow these instructions: wear it “ T ight,” keep baby’s face “ I n view at all times,” position the child high enough that he/she is “ C lose enough to kiss,” make sure to “ K eep chin off the chest” so that the baby can breathe properly, and make sure that the baby has a properly “ S upported back.”
A few 19 Kids and Counting fans tried to support Jill Duggar by pointing out that she could simply be holding Israel in the breastfeeding position , but others disagreed that this is a possibility.
“Unless she has a third boob that hangs at her waist she is not nursing in this pic,” one commenter wrote.
Luckily, baby Israel is still safe and sound despite Jill’s questionable sling-wearing skills. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the new mom and husband Derick Dillard have been very busy posting photos of Izzy on Instagram and their family website. Since Jill spends a lot of time online, perhaps one of her social media followers will make her aware of her babywearing fail.
Jessa Duggar could also learn from the backlash to Jill’s baby sling photo. During an interview with People , Jessa revealed that she’s already seeking baby advice from her student midwife sister because she “has all the knowledge and training.” However, it won’t help Jessa much if Jill is passing along faulty advice.
What do you think of Jill Duggar’s baby sling photo? Does it look like she’s endangering baby Israel by wearing it improperly?
[Image credits: Pickles and Hairspray Facebook ]