Babywearing Voices: Lisa Grisham

“You better watch out—or I’ll strap a baby on you!”

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Lisa Grisham, PhD, DNP, NNP-BC, laughs when she says this, but she means it. Babywearing has become such an integral part of her NICU work that she’s now known for it, advocating with passion and backed by data.

Lisa has worked in the NICU since 2000, but it was a shift in 2017 that changed everything. Asked to explore better ways to care for infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), she immersed herself in learning. What she found was a gap: babies withdrawing from in-utero opioid exposure needed more than medication. They needed human connection. Lisa thought back to her own early days of motherhood when a homemade baby carrier from her sister helped soothe her colicky, sleepless newborn while her husband was deployed. That carrier saved her sanity...and planted a seed.

Back in the NICU, she began exploring babywearing as a non-pharmacological intervention. The idea gained traction quickly. Lisa collaborated with researcher Lela Rankin Williams and launched a pilot study to monitor heart rate and oxygen saturation in infants and caregivers during babywearing. The results showed a significant decrease in heart rate, particularly when the baby was worn by a biological parent.

“You are the best one for your baby.”

The research opened doors, but the cultural shift it inspired is what really lit the spark. “Nurses started saying, ‘This baby needs it too,’ even when the baby wasn’t withdrawing. And parents would see us and say, ‘I want to do that.’”

From there, the program grew—first locally, then systematically. With support from risk management, infection control, and NICU leadership, Lisa helped formalize a babywearing policy across Banner Estrella Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in the country. Today, five Banner hospitals are actively using babywearing as part of their standard of care.

Integral to this success was the training and support from the Center for Babywearing Studies’ CNBE-H program, which Lisa completed herself and helped implement with staff. “Joanna helped us create a training module that merged our clinical needs with her babywearing expertise. It was thoughtful, ergonomic, safety-focused, and full of real-world examples that resonated with our team.”

Lisa appreciated that Joanna was willing to tailor the training to their reality—including occasional swaddling in the carrier for babies with NAS. “She listened. She understood our constraints. And she helped us do it safely.”

Lisa now sees babywearing as a tool for connection and healing—not just for babies, but for parents and providers too.

“We were able to use less medication. We held babies in safer, more supported ways. And we gave families a way to bond that helped them feel more confident.”

For other healthcare providers hoping to bring babywearing into their hospitals, Lisa’s advice is simple:

“Build your team of champions. Be proactive with risk management and infection control. Lead with safety, and keep it fun and reasonable. And make sure your staff gets formal training—nobody wants an injury which could derail the program.”

Lisa’s leadership and collaborative spirit have helped transform the NICU experience for countless babies and families. We’re honored to count her among our CNBE-H graduates.

Learn more about her work with NAS here.