Complete References & Further Reading

This page gathers all the sources, articles, photographs, archival materials, and books that have informed and enriched our exploration of traditional babywearing and cradle traditions around the world. Each reference has been chosen with care to honour the communities who continue to carry their children in ways that reflect deep cultural knowledge, connection, and love.

By sharing these references, I invite you to look deeper, follow the threads of history and contemporary practice, and celebrate the incredible diversity of ways families keep their babies close. May this list support your own learning, spark curiosity, and serve as a respectful acknowledgment of the people and cultures who have shared their stories with us.

General & Foundational Works

• Norberg-Hodge, Helena. Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World. Sierra Club Books, 1991.

• Liedloff, Jean. The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost. Da Capo Press, 1975.

• Kirkilionis, Evelin. A Baby Wants to Be Carried: Everything You Need to Know About Baby Carriers and the Advantages of Babywearing. Pinter & Martin, 2014.

• Blois, Maria. Babywearing: The Benefits and Beauty of This Ancient Tradition. Pharmasoft Publishing, 2005.

• van Hout, Itie (Editor). Beloved Burden: Baby Carriers in Different Countries. Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology, 2010.

• Knowles, Rosie. Why Babywearing Matters. Pinter & Martin, 2016.

• Small, Meredith F. Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent. Anchor Books, 1998.

• Fontanel, Béatrice. Babies Celebrated. London: Thames & Hudson, 1998.

Africa

• Cooper, Brenda. Cloth, Dress and Art Patronage in Africa. Berg Publishers, 2002.

• Rabine, Leslie W. The Global Circulation of African Fashion. Berg Publishers, 2002.

• Gottlieb, Alma. The Afterlife Is Where We Come From: The Culture of Infancy in West Africa. University of Chicago Press, 2004.

The Americas

• O'Brien, Sharon. American Indian Tribal Governments. University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.

• Mendoza, Zoila. Creating Our Own: Folklore, Performance, and Identity in Cuzco, Peru. Duke University Press, 2008.

• Babcock, Barbara A. The Pueblo Storyteller: Development of a Figurative Ceramic Tradition. University of Arizona Press, 1990.

• Martínez, María Elena. Genealogical Fictions: Limpieza de Sangre, Religion, and Gender in Colonial Mexico. Stanford University Press, 2008.

Europe

• St Fagans National Museum of History (Wales). Articles and archives on siol fagu (Welsh nursing shawl).

• Hoffmann, Erika. DIDYMOS: 40 Jahre Tragen. DIDYMOS, 2012.

Arctic & Northern Regions

• Ohokak, Gyu. Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005.

• Ingold, Tim. The Perception of the Environment: Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. Routledge, 2000.

• Nuttall, Mark. Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Routledge, 2005.

Middle East & North Africa

• Sholkamy, Hania. “Motherhood and the Making of Modern Egyptian Society.” In Reconceiving the Second Sex: Men, Masculinity, and Reproduction, Berghahn Books, 2012.

• Chatty, Dawn. From Camel to Truck: The Bedouin in the Modern World. Vantage Press, 1986.

Asia

• Chau-Ginguene, Alice. “Meh Dai: A Detailed History and Cultural Significance.” Carry Happy, 2020.

• Miller, Barbara E. The Endangered Maids of India: Textiles and Globalization. Marg Publications, 2017.

• Howard, Angela Falco. Chinese Sculpture. Yale University Press, 2006 (for cultural context).

• Suzuki, Emi. "Traditional Baby Carriers in Japan: Historical Development and Cultural Significance." Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 63, 2004.

Australia & Pacific Islands

• Southern Natural Parenting Network: “A History of Babywearing in Australia: Part One.”

• AIATSIS. “Possum-skin cloaks: Cultural significance.”

• Makereti, E. The Old-Time Maori. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1938.

• Pascoe, Bruce. Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture. Magabala Books, 2014.

Caribbean & Afro-Caribbean

• Beckles, Hilary. Centering Woman: Gender Discourses in Caribbean Slave Society. Ian Randle Publishers, 1999.

• Palmer, Colin A. Freedom’s Children: The 1938 Labor Rebellion and the Birth of Modern Jamaica. University of North Carolina Press, 2014.

Papua New Guinea & Melanesia

• Strathern, Marilyn. The Gender of the Gift: Problems with Women and Problems with Society in Melanesia. University of California Press, 1988.

• MacKenzie, Maureen. Androgynous Objects: String Bags and Gender in Central New Guinea. Routledge, 1991.

Mongolia & Inner Asia

• Pegg, Carole. Mongolian Music, Dance, and Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities. University of Washington Press, 2001.

• Humphrey, Caroline, and David Sneath. The End of Nomadism? Society, State, and the Environment in Inner Asia. Duke University Press, 1999.

Additional Online Articles and Community Resources

• Carry Me Away. “Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation in Babywearing.”

• Healing Foundation. “Impact of Colonisation on Indigenous Families.”

• Indigenous Motherhood Project. “Decolonizing Parenting Practices.”

• International Babywearing Week official site. “History & Traditions.”

• Center for Babywearing Studies. Articles and resources on cultural awareness and technique.

Contemporary Perspectives & Cultural Continuity

• Indigenous Motherhood Project. Articles and resources centering Indigenous parenting and traditional practices today.

• Carry Happy (Alice Chau-Ginguene). Contemporary perspectives on traditional carriers, cultural respect, and modern adaptations.

• Strong Nations Publishing. Books and resources supporting Indigenous parenting and storytelling in contemporary contexts.

• Native Breastfeeding Week. Celebrating and reclaiming Indigenous breastfeeding and carrying traditions.

• Healing Foundation. Stories and community-led initiatives focused on healing from colonisation and strengthening cultural parenting practices.