Babies are not often swaddled in Canada and other western countries, unless it is in done by parents who come from places where the practice is traditional. Some parents say babies sleep better and longer when they are wrapped tightly, but there is no scientific proof of any benefits of swaddling. However there is research which suggests there are some risks.
Swaddling does keep newborns warm in cold temperatures. Babies are not able to regulate their own body temperature as do adults. They can get hypothermia which can be dangerous. This may be a reason why parents began swaddling babies. But this is not much of an issue in places where homes are centrally heated.
Swaddling may cause hip problems
Swaddling has been associated with some risks for hips. “Repeated studies in different parts of the world (indicate) that babies who are swaddled have more problems with the hip joint,” says Dr. Gideon Koren, director of the Motherisk Program at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. “The hip joint may be dislocated because of the way the swaddle goes. It doesn’t let the head of the hip bone sit the right way.”
Studies also show that babies who sleep on their stomachs are more at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which can occur in seemingly healthy babies. Koren is concerned that swaddled babies put to sleep on their backs may roll onto their stomachs and so, be at increased risk for SIDS.
Doctors inform, parents decide
Instinct tells Koren, there is something unnatural in not letting babies move in the way nature intended. Science may in future find benefits of swaddling but for now, it has not.
So Koren tailors his advice to the parents he sees. He notes that Toronto may be the most cosmopolitan city in the world, with people living there who have origins in some 220 countries. They may be attached to swaddling traditions. He tells them of the risks science indicates and that there are no proven benefits. But in the end it is up to them to decide whether to swaddle or not.
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