When you’re expecting, there is so much to think about! Clothes, cot, nursery, maternity clothes, birth plans, are but a few of the things which are probably on your mind. Buying a pram might not seem that important to start with, but when you think about it, it is something you are going to need right from the word go once your baby has arrived!

Please don’t do what I did – rush out and buy the first pram I could get my hands on in a mild, hormone-induced panic! Prams are pretty pricey these days, so it makes sense to consider all the options available to you.

Firstly, it is important that you choose a pram which enables your newborn baby to lie flat. This aids their development. Generally, prams which do not have 180 degree seats are said to only be suitable for babies from 3 or 6 months onwards.

Lying flat aids the development of your child’s lungs, the last organ to develop in the womb. It also helps the spine to grow and develop. In time, lying flat will help your baby to develop their muscle tone and neck control. Whilst lying flat, your child will begin to explore his hands and feet, starting to reach out with his hands and then kicking his legs.

Prams without lie-flat seats tend to come with a carrycot in which the baby can lie flat from birth to three or six months. This is how they can be labeled as suitable for newborns. You may prefer this, as carrying your baby in a carrycot might be how you would like to do things to start with. Carrycots are certainly more practical in the winter.

In terms of forward facing or backward facing prams, there is some debate over which is better for your child’s development. Would you prefer your baby to look out at the world, or do you feel it is better for the baby to face you?

Results from a study in late 2008, carried out by researchers at the University of Dundee suggest that babies who can see their mothers whilst in the pram were more likely to:

-Be talked to

-Try to talk back to their Mum

-Fall asleep

-Have a lower heart rate, suggesting contentment

So, to me it seems to make sense to invest in a pram which can face forwards or backwards. That way, you have the choice and you can give your baby a variety of things to look at.

There have been some scare stories recently about ‘flat head syndrome’, which is where the back of your baby’s head changes shape as a result of spending too much time on their back, either lying in a pram or in a car seat.

Although it is advisable to lay babies flat as this aids their development and is thought to help prevent cot death, the time spent on their back needs to be balanced with time spent in different positions. So, ensure that you give your child ‘tummy time’, where they lie on their stomach, under constant supervision, when they are awake.

In practical terms, the pram you choose needs to be comfortable and easy for you and your partner to use. So consider where you live, the kinds of activities you are going to be doing whilst pushing the pram (shopping, jogging, walking over rough terrain), and where you will be storing it. Will you need to fold it up and tuck it out the way or do you  have enough space to keep it set up? All these factors will affect what kind of pram you need to buy.

Happy pram hunting and relax, it’s all going to be fine!

About the Author

A natural born writer, Stacey Barton writes professionally and for fun across a wide range of niches with particular attention to how classic brands can continue to offer the same product for decades and somehow survive the turbulent and ever changing consumer market.