Many women and their partners are discovering the traditional wisdom of babywearing works well in their modern lifestyle.

• Babies whose mothers wear them are calmer and cry less. In most cultures, where babies are held almost constantly, they are typically in a quiet alert state and rarely cry for more than brief periods.
• In a quiet alert state, babies are more receptive to learning and display enhanced visual and auditory alertness.
• Rebzos provide a gentle way of transitioning babies from the calm environment of the womb to that of the outside world. Babies continue to be rocked by their mothers' movements and to hear their mothers' heartbeats. This helps them to regulate their own systems.
• It facilitates bonding and emotional development. When babies are held closely, the adult and the baby can see each other's faces, leading to frequent verbal and non-verbal interaction, enhancing speech development. Babies are quickly able to develop a sense of security and trust. They are more likely to be securely attached to their care-giver/s and often become independent at an earlier age
• Babies who are carried in rebozos facing away from the adult get a bird's eye view of the world and its wonders. This kind of gentle stimulation enables babies to learn about their environment at their own pace.
• Experiencing a wide variety of stimuli helps babies' brains to develop to their full potential.
• Mothers are more easily able to calm their babies if they are frightened, providing a safe haven.
• It is easy to breastfeed discreetly in a rebozo as the fabric shields both the baby and the mother from the public view.
• Mothers find it easier to carry on their normal daily activities when they wear their babies. Both their hands are free and their babies are quickly soothed. Housework, shopping, walking for exercise and even using computers become more manageable tasks. Some mothers even take their babies to work in their rebozos.
• Older children appreciate that their mothers' free hands can attend to their own needs, like tying shoelaces or making snacks.
• Traveling is easier when babies are tucked securely into slings.
• Twins can be worn in rebozos too ­ one on each side. Or a toddler and infant - back and front.
• Dad's and babysitters can babywear too as a away to connect and sooth babies when moms are unavailable.

In Maya culture, backstrap weaving is a metaphor for birth and creation and therefore a woman’s domain. The elements of the backstrap loom, weaving procedures, designs and the weaver herself, are all parts of the Maya birthing-weaving concept. While weaving, the motion of the shed, opening and closing, is like the beating of a heart. The turning of the loom during its set up is considered the turning of the fetus in the womb just prior to birth and the movement of the weaver, rocking back and forth, represents contractions during birth.

Using centuries old techniques and the ancient loom of her ancestors, the Maya woman weaves her personal "herstory", ethnic identity and the design of the Universe into her cloth. Backstrap loom weaving is the one Maya art to have survived intact throughout the last 2 millennia.

Weavers want to preserve this ancient  tradition, but backstraps have been replaced by footlooms in most parts of the world. Because the footloom has a larger frame, its users can produce a wider variety of textiles more quickly, reducing production costs. In almost all communities footlooms are used by men. Backstrap looms are smaller and portable allowing women to weave at home while watching over children and taking care of daily responsibilities.

Read more about the herstory of weaving and rebozo making.

http://www.rebozoway.org/articles/artreboz.htm

http://iweb.tntech.edu/cventura/SM.htm

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