A thin blanket wrapped snuggly around your baby’s body can resemble the womb and help soothe your newborn. When done correctly, swaddling can be an effective technique to help calm infants and promote sleep. You need to follow a few guidelines to ensure that you are swaddling your baby safely.
How to swaddle correctly
- Use only a thin blanket for swaddling.
- To swaddle, spread the blanket out flat, with one corner folded down.
- Lay the baby face-up on the blanket, with their head above the folded corner.
- Straighten their left arm and wrap the left corner of the blanket over your baby’s body, tucking it between their right arm and the right side of their body.
- Then tuck the right arm down, and fold the right corner of the blanket over her body and under their left side.
- Fold or twist the bottom of the blanket loosely and tuck it under one side of the baby.
- Make sure their hips can move and that the blanket is not too tight. You want to be able to get at least two or three fingers between the baby’s chest and the swaddle
Swaddling in Childcare
Some childcare centers may have a policy against swaddling infants in their care. This is because of the increased risks of SIDS or suffocation if the baby rolls over while swaddled, in addition to the other risks of overheating and hip dysplasia.
A newborn can be swaddled correctly and placed on their back in his crib at home, and it can help comfort and soothe them to sleep.
Source: https://www.healthychildren.org/