British researchers have launched a challenge to advice on dressing babies.
Current NHS guidelines suggest dressing babies in an extra layer of clothing to the parent. However, this advice does not consider extra warmth provided when the baby is carried in a sling, the researchers say.
Dr Davide Filingeri and colleagues at Loughborough University, UK, are testing groups of parents and babies under a year old to check that infants remain within safe temperature levels.
The researchers say the current guidance is not based on any scientific evidence.
Dr Filingeri said: "This research aims to improve our understanding of how warm babies get as a result of being held close to an adult in a sling and to consider whether the current NHS advice of dressing a baby in one extra layer than the parents is appropriate during baby wearing.
"Currently, the guidance for baby clothing is given for all babies regardless of whether they are lying on the floor, sitting in a buggy or positioned in a sling. Consideration should be given to how these external factors might shift baby body temperature beyond safety limits."
Testing is now under way in a Loughborough University laboratory involving parents carrying babies in slings.
"As the NHS advice may not be necessary or desirable during baby wearing and especially in warm weather conditions, there is an urgent need to evaluate infant thermoregulation during baby wearing, to provide evidence in support and/or against current health care advice," Dr Filingeri said.
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