Parents of colicky babies everywhere are encouraged to shush, swish and swaddle. The three S’s are the only thing that seem to bring some babies comfort and relief. I however, was not blessed with any of those babies. While all of my children were content in their slings and mei tais, not a single one was interested in becoming a cute little human burrito. I thought I was doing it wrong, but even the nurses who were supposed experts couldn’t get my babies to like having their body parts all mushed up close to their bodies. What can I say? I guess I birthed a lot of movers and shakers.
Research on swaddling suggests that it helps babies sleep more, and improves neurological development by encouraging a state of “alert quietness” during which time the baby takes in his surroundings. (I have to point out here that the sling does the same thing.) I have always considered swaddling optional. I think if it works–hooray for you! If it doesn’t though, perhaps you too, have a more mobile child.
However, until recently I had never heard of any negative side effects of swaddling. But apparently swaddling increases the risks of both SIDS and hip dysplasia.
Avoiding Risks Associated with Swaddling
It is thought that a tightly swaddled baby can easily become over heated which is thought to in turn, cause SIDS. It is also thought that a baby swaddled too tightly can suffer from hip dysplasia which makes sense since tightly swaddling your baby would place baby’s hips in a rather unatural position.
However, the simple solution is to swaddle your baby less tightly. To me, that seems to defeat the purpose of swaddling. Isn’t it the tightness and coziness that helps the baby calm down and sleep? Maybe I have it all wrong but I wonder if swaddling is over rated. I knew there was a reason I loved my slings.