After a recent call-out, I was flooded with heartfelt stories from fathers expressing how much they cherish carrying their babies in slings. This week’s viral campaign, which placed baby dolls in slings on statues of iconic men like Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thierry Henry in London, got me thinking about how fatherhood is being redefined. Much like the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign that dressed Antony Gormley’s iron men on Crosby beach in a similar fashion, the message hinges on subverting traditional views. Historically, we don’t associate great men with the image of baby-wearing, even though today, many fathers do just that.

While societal perceptions are evolving, it still feels like a distant future before we see a male MP carrying an infant in parliament—something Stella Creasy was reprimanded for doing in 2021. It’s been six years since Piers Morgan ridiculed Daniel Craig for wearing his baby in a carrier, and even then, Morgan’s stance felt outdated. Today, it’s a familiar sight, with baby-wearing fathers like John Legend and Gordon Ramsay proudly embracing the practice.

For millennia, humans have used materials to secure infants to their bodies, a practice that persists in many cultures. However, it’s only since the mid-20th century that this has become more common in the West (BabyBjörn launched its first carrier in 1973), and even more recently, normalized among men.

I recently spoke with Chris, who was ahead of his time back in 1996, proudly wearing a front sling with his daughter. As the primary caregiver for the first 18 months, he often found himself as the only man at playgroups. “It was definitely not the norm then,” he recalls, “but society has changed a lot in the past 28 years. Now, we accept that parenting is shared, and seeing a man carrying a baby is completely normal.” Today’s fathers are far more attuned to child psychology and the importance of the parent-infant bond. While Dr. Benjamin Spock highlighted the value of physical touch as early as 1946, modern parents have an abundance of online resources emphasizing the benefits of skin-to-skin contact. For premature babies, “kangaroo care” has even been proven to lower mortality rates.

The rise of mindful, gentle, and attachment parenting marks a shift for many young parents, differing from the way they were raised. Despite lingering stereotypes that fathers have little to contribute in a child’s early weeks, many men are debunking that myth. My husband, for example, wore our pre-term son for much of his first year, often using a purple leopard-print BabyBjorn carrier—perhaps not the most traditionally masculine choice, but one that helped build a strong bond, once our son was healthy enough, following medical guidelines.

Father baby-wearing not only aids mothers in their postpartum recovery, especially after surgeries, but also provides an invaluable opportunity for fathers to bond with their newborns. After a recent callout, I was overwhelmed with responses from dads who shared how wearing their babies helped deepen their connection—how they cherished the warmth, smell, and closeness it brought. One father, Dominic, even wore his son through an entire Bruce Springsteen concert, a moment he’ll never forget. Writer and artist Tom de Freston described baby-wearing as “one of the greatest joys” of his life. During his daughter Coral’s first year, he created a series of monoprints to capture the intimacy he felt, a bond so strong he believes it triggered endorphins. “Carrying her has always felt like one of the most extraordinary gifts of fatherhood,” Tom reflected, calling it a primal and essential form of care.

The public reaction to baby-wearing can be equally striking. Marvyn Harrison, founder of Dope Black Dads and advocate for improved paternity leave, recalls how wearing his baby in public sparked some of his happiest memories of early fatherhood. He noticed how people would "go gaga" over him with his child in the sling, offering smiles and interactions he wouldn’t have otherwise received. For Marvyn, as a Black man, the difference was even more profound—without the baby carrier, people typically wouldn’t approach or engage with him. But the sling seemed to act like a “permission slip,” inviting others to connect and interact in a way that felt rare and surprising. Both he and his wife were struck by the shift in how people reacted to him when he wore their child, something that underscored the subtle yet powerful dynamics at play in public perceptions of fatherhood.

“Walking back from nursery with our seven-month-old in the carrier and pushing our three-year-old in the stroller earned me all sorts of admiring looks I definitely didn’t deserve,” says Dave, noting that his wife never receives the same attention. My friend Gav admitted that baby-wearing gave him an ego boost. “It made me feel a bit like a hero. It was nice to think people saw me pulling my weight as a dad,” he shared. He never felt awkward and noticed how people were always happy to see him with his daughter, Frida.

What struck me most was the number of dads who expressed genuine sadness when their children eventually outgrew the sling. Their messages showed how deeply baby-wearing can impact a father's early experiences of parenthood, creating lasting memories. It’s clear that for many men, carrying their babies is more than just practical—it’s an emotional and bonding experience that shapes their journey as fathers.

As these stories illustrate, baby-wearing plays a significant role in the evolving narrative of modern fatherhood. Let’s hope this beautiful tradition continues to flourish for future generations.