Save your back

Often, it’s the simple cry in the wilderness that makes the biggest difference.

So here it goes: “Infant car seats are a scourge on the fabric of humanity!”

Admittedly, that is a very strong accusation and perhaps I’m on shaky ground here. After all, I’m a devotee of all things safe, infant car seats among them.

Just like seatbelts, shoulder harnesses and air bags, infant seats have saved countless, precious lives. But the car seat part is not my beef. It is the detachable aspect that I don’t like. Once the infant car seat

is released from the base and removed from the car, it becomes dangerous for the baby, parents and society.

Transporting children has always been a problem, to some degree, in every age and in all cultures. Mostly, a mother walks where she needs to go and carries her baby slung against her body. Usually, some “improvement” comes along and baby transportation becomes easier. It’s not difficult to imagine early Americans trekking across the Great Plains. It probably didn’t take long to fashion a rustic infant carrier by strapping the papoose onto the travois.

Today, safe transportation goes beyond, wondering if the horse will bolt. In this country’s car dominant culture, parents are hugely mobile. The advent of the modern infant car seat, with detachable base, at first blush, seems like a godsend; however, there are five unexpected, negative consequences that come from this “advancement.”

First, “baby nap time” now means eyes-closed-in-carseat, anytime, anywhere. You try sleeping in a moving grocery cart and tell me how restful it is.

Second, an 18-pound baby now weighs in at over 30 pounds (seat, bedding, toys, bottle and baby). Just to put things in perspective, if OSHA ever got jurisdiction over the baby “workplace,” cars would require all sorts of modifications including mandatory back support for the parent.

Third, biomechanically, there is no acceptable way to actually walk while carrying a fully loaded child seat. All the weight is piled on one side (unless you have twins) and the center of gravity is extended far away from the body. Not at all ideal!

Fourth, even while floating in the mother’s womb, babies are quite active and seldom maintain a single position for any extended period of time. So, why would we expect that an infant should stay in “the car seat position” for any extended time?

Fifth, natural human contact is substituted for convenience. For whatever reason, God made baby’s eyes able to focus better up close and personal (not transitioning fully until about eight months). Their need for close physical contact is well known. Parking a child on the floor, strapped into a plastic chair may seem convenient, but is it right?

While spinal and biomechanical problems might be good for my chiropractic business, it is my hope to see lots of new parents leaving the car safety seat where it belongs — in the car.

Dr. Ray Pope practices chiropractic on Camano Island at Action Potential Chiropractic Inc.