6 Reasons to Swaddle Your Baby

Ireyimika Oyegbami

Despite the fact that some Nigerian parents are aware that babies distressed by drugs in utero and premature babies thrive better when they are swaddled, most shy away from the age old practice of swaddling their healthy newborns. Swaddling involves snugly wrapping infants in a blanket, restricting their movement. While older babies may not need to be swaddled, babies from birth up until about three months ought to be swaddled.

Below are six valid reasons to swaddle your newborn:

1. Comfort: Swaddling ultimately is a vital base to calm a crying baby and encourage sleep. A swaddled baby feels at ease and falls asleep faster, especially when swaddling is combined with other soothing processes such as motion, white noise and sucking on the pacifier.

2. Less cry: A swaddled baby cries less. When combined with other pacifying methods, swaddling aids more rapid results at soothing. However, swaddling, all by itself, seems to result in a notable reduction in crying.

3. Reduction in risk of SIDS: It is safely assumed that a properly swaddled baby is unlikely to accidentally cover her head or nose with bedding neither is she able to turn over onto her stomach while sleeping. Both actions are synonymous with the high occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in newborn babies. However, a swaddled baby should always be placed to sleep on her back as there is a higher risk of SIDS when a swaddled baby sleeps on her stomach than when a baby who is not swaddled sleeps on her stomach. It is safer for babies to sleep on their backs.

READ ALSO: How To Swaddle Your New Born Baby, Step-By-Step

4. Better motor skill organization: Although some newborn babies may be quick to learn how to self-soothe by putting their fingers in their mouths, most movements of the limbs of the newborn are essentially involuntary and arbitrary. When a newborn has her arms immobilized due to swaddling, the arms actually develop better motor skill organization and the baby experiences advanced neuromuscular progress.

5. Better sleep: A newborn baby will sleep better and for a longer period if swaddled. Swaddling prevents newborn babies from shaking themselves awake with arbitrary limb movements. Also, newborns are known to take several pithy naps during the day, however, mothers would have them settle into longer uninterrupted windows of sleep during the night. Swaddling is recommended to aid this. The American Academy of Paediatrics’ journal records that swaddling ‘stimulates sleep continuity’ which can be interpreted to mean swaddling enables babies sleep longer.

6. Regulates body temperature: Swaddling has been shown to help regulate body temperature, however, it can cause hyperthermia – a too high body temperature. Nigerian mothers can minimize the risk of a too high body temperature by using light cotton swaddling wrap that is breathable and by covering just the body while the head is left uncovered.

Swaddling should be done just right and not too tight. Note that it does not go down well with all newborns as all babies are different. Some feel cosy and safe when enfolded in a swaddling drape while others jerk and resist the constraint. If your baby persists in her struggle against the swaddling sheet when sleeping, do not swaddle her in order to avoid the SIDS risk.