When babies are Swaddles correctly, they often feel calmer and more sleepy. This has been shown to help them fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Swaddling also helps prevent excessive crying and colic in babies, by mimicking the cocoon-like feeling they got in their womb.
What is it?
When babies are swaddled, they are taken back to their days in the womb when everything was comfy and safe. Often, this can help babies sleep longer and more soundly!
Swaddling also helps prevent babies from waking up due to the Moro reflex, or startle response. This is when they reflexively jerk and flail their arms and legs.
Babies who swaddle are able to move their bodies and receive the right proprioceptive input, which is soothing for them.
However, if your baby’s hips and knees are too tightly wrapped up while being swaddled, this can lead to hip dysplasia later on! This can be a major concern and cause serious growth and development problems.
How does it work?
Swaddling is a gentle, safe way to comfort your baby and encourage them to sleep more soundly. It’s also a key part of any consistent, predictable bedtime routine.
It recreates a feeling of security that babies feel in their womb, when they had less room to move around.
Decreases crying: Babies who cling more often to their parents while they’re swaddled may cry less.
Soothes colic: Swaddling can help reduce fussiness and soothe babies who have trouble falling asleep.
Prevents face scratching: Many babies have fingernails like razors that tend to make their way to the face in their sleep -- swaddling prevents this from happening, which can keep them more comfortable and stop them from having dried blood on their face when they wake up.
However, be sure to always follow all AAP safe sleep guidelines when swaddling. This means putting your baby to sleep on their back, in their own crib with nothing but the swaddle and nothing else in the crib.
Why is it so effective?
Often used to help soothe babies, swaddling mimics the snug, familiar feeling a baby feels when they’re back in the womb. It’s been part of caring for babies for centuries and has many benefits.
It calms babies and helps them sleep better
Babies who are swaddled tend to fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep longer during the night. In fact, swaddling can reduce their chances of startingle-wake syndrome and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Decreases crying
Swaddled babies are less likely to cry excessively during the day. It’s especially helpful for babies with colic, a condition that can cause extreme discomfort and may lead to poor sleeping habits.
Soothes colic
Parents often turn to swaddling when their baby has a lot of fussiness, but is not yet getting the rest they need at bedtime or during the day. This is because swaddling activates the calming reflex, which essentially flips your baby’s internal switch for crying off and sleep on.
What are the risks?
While swaddling can be helpful in soothing babies, it can also be harmful if not done properly. Research has shown that swaddling can increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and other sleep-related deaths in infants, particularly if baby rolls over while swaddled or if he is too loosely swaddled.
Researchers have also found that swaddling may increase the risk of hip dysplasia, a developmental problem with the hip joints. This is because tightly swaddling legs can prevent them from being able to bend up and out at the hips, which is necessary for healthy development of the leg bones.
Other risks associated with swaddling include overheating and suffocation hazards. Generally, swaddling should be stopped as soon as a baby shows signs of trying to roll over -- this includes rolling in the prone position or attempting to roll out of bed.
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