I love a good swaddle! Settling your crying or fussy baby can be difficult and swaddling (tightly wrapping) helps.  I know wrapping to be a wonderfully effective tool for parents and babies in the first few months of life and I share this with new parents in hospital. Many other health professionals do, as well.

Swaddling is an age-old child care practice that has been used across countries, continents, cultures and communities. Even the infant Jesus Christ was wrapped in ‘swaddling cloths’. There is a great deal of medical research and evidence that proves the benefits of swaddling, including:

·         Swaddled babies wake up less and sleep longer

·         Swaddling keeps sleeping babies on their backs and reduces the risks of SIDS

·         Swaddling helps babies feel safe, secure and calm

Babies can be swaddled from birth until the time when they can roll over independently (usually between 4 and 6 months of age), so it is a useful tool for those early, unsettled months. Swaddling has calming and soothing effects on babies and promotes a feeling of warmth, safety and security. It has the capacity to do this for several reasons:

·         Swaddling mimics the confined womb environment (remember, your new baby is used to a pretty confined space in the womb!)

·         Swaddling reduces arousal from the startle reflex (Moro reflex) and external stimulation. (Babies often wake themselves with sudden jerking movement of their arms and legs. Swaddling helps keep things all together!)

·         Swaddling reduces your baby’s irritability and crying. (In medical studies, swaddling has been associated with significant reduction irritability and crying and was shown to be more soothing than massage or sucking.)

·         Swaddling results in better sleep for your baby – and then for you! (Experience and research clearly demonstrates that swaddled babies arouse less and sleep longer.)

A common misconception of swaddling is that it should not be too tight. Not true! Feel confident to swaddle your baby very snugly to ensure the wrap does not come undone. To be sure that your wrap is just the right tightness, a good rule to follow is to think of sliding your hands inside your jeans pocket. Your baby’s wrap should be firm, fitting and secure, just as your hand feels when inside the pocket of your jeans.

Answering recent concerns, the hot off the press editorial To Swaddle or not to Swaddle, from the reputable Journal of Paediatrics, looks at the currently available information on swaddling. It concludes that the advantages of swaddling outweigh the risks, if any.

When combined with recognising your baby’s tired signs swaddling is one of the easiest and most rewarding of settling strategies. Together with sound and movement, swaddling will not only helps your baby, but it will give you confidence as well. When you can successfully calm and soothe your baby with a swift, snug swaddle; take a moment to congratulate yourself!