Swaddling Your Baby

The practice of baby-swaddling dates back centuries and is still common in many cultures today. Swaddling involves wrapping a baby securely from shoulders to feet inside a small blanket. American Indians and people in the Middle East use bands and more sophisticated swaddling techniques, but the more traditional techniques are still practiced in such countries as Turkey, Afghanistan and Albania today.

Not only can correct swaddling be a great way to calm and sooth a fussy infant, it has also been shown to lower the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). At the age of three months, when the risk for SIDS is greatest, traditional American swaddling techniques allow a baby to escape from the blankets if it overheats. It allows the baby to stay in a more stable position while sleeping, thereby lowering the SIDS risk. In addition, swaddling has been shown to help babies sleep longer and more restfully by preventing the sudden movements that can cause them to wake up, thereby improving mom and dad’s sleep quality too! Babies who are swaddled are said to feel secure, similar to how they felt while in the womb. It can also assist in temperature regulation, keeping baby nice and warm while sleeping.

During waking hours a swaddled baby is easy to carry and hold; an adorable, compact little package. It can also help your baby to focus on breast or bottle feeding by keeping his little hands out of the way.

Swaddling usually works best from newborn to approximately four months, but if a baby is used to being swaddled it can be utilized even longer. Babies being introduced to swaddling later on may require an adjustment period, as the sensation will feel strange at first. Modified swaddling, such as leaving arms free while swaddling the rest of baby’s body, might be needed when first introducing the practice to your baby. The blanket should always feel snug but not tight, and take special care to ensure your baby’s circulation is not compromised in any way or that your baby is not uncomfortable.

Ask a nurse, physician, midwife or other knowledgeable healthcare practitioner to demonstrate the correct technique for swaddling your baby. As a basic guide for the most simple swaddling technique, use a thin swaddle-blanket, muslin or sheet, folded into two diagonally. Lay the baby in the middle of the swaddle with the corners of the folded ends at her feet. Make sure the top of the blanket is no higher than her neck, and wrap one end firmly around her body – across and then down – and then tuck the end gently underneath her arm. Take the other end and wrap it, again diagonally, across her body, tucking it underneath her on the other side. Only her head should be visible. The bottom of the swaddle can be folded under her feet if necessary.

This type of swaddle is most suited to calming a baby – a more complicated technique is better suited to sleeping as babies can then release their own hands and there is less chance of overheating.

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