Swaddling is an ancient practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour in the 17th century.
A few authors[who?] are said to be of the opinion that swaddling is becoming popular again, although medical and psychological opinion on the effects of swaddling is largely against. Some modern medical studies indicate that swaddling helps babies fall asleep and to remain asleep and helps to keep the baby in a supine position, which lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).[1] However, another study indicated that swaddling increased the risk of SIDS.[2] Additionally, emerging evidence is showing that certain swaddling techniques may increase the risk of developmental dysplasia of the hip.[3]
- ^ Gerard, Claudia M.; Kathleen A. Harris; Bradley T. Thach (6 December 2002). "Spontaneous Arousals in Supine Infants While Swaddled and Unswaddled During Rapid Eye Movement and Quiet Sleep". Pediatrics. 110 (6): e70. doi:10.1542/peds.110.6.e70. PMID 12456937.
- ^ See Blair et al. (2009).
- ^ hipdysplasia.org Archived 2011-08-19 at the Wayback Machine.