Swaddling a baby is as old as time, a standard practice parents and caregivers go by throughout the centuries. People don’t do it for no reason. The benefits derived from swaddling a baby are too good to pass up. No surprise, then that it’s practiced by most cultures all across the globe. However, with all its merits and advantages, it also comes with some serious pitfalls. 

I can’t count the times I’ve come across images of a swaddled baby online and in real life. Many of us thought it was adorable and a safe practice as infants are made to feel comfortable, snug as a bug, wrapped in a cozy blanket’s warm embrace— or so we thought. It didn’t occur to us that swaddling also comes with inherent risks if done wrong.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Swaddling

 

Swaddling has its perks and drawbacks. If done right, your infant will surely reap the benefits, but if mishandled or done carelessly, the consequences will be harsh.

 

Advantages

 

Swaddling Helps With Hypothermia

Swaddling your little one can help keep his internal body temperature steady, preventing heat loss that infants often succumb to.

 

Newborns are susceptible to cold temperatures. Their underdeveloped metabolic mechanism, or their body’s ability to convert food into energy, is dismal at best, resulting in hypothermia — limiting their ability to tolerate cold temperatures. Such a condition is a lot worse with low-birth-weight infants, even with their compensatory mechanisms. And should such a condition be left unattended, it can increase the risk of late-onset sepsis and mortality.

 

Other factors that hinder an infant’s ability to regulate temperature are as follows:

 

Less subcutaneous fat

Immature, thinner, or underdeveloped skin

High body water content

 

Considering the potential risks of cold intolerance in babies, swaddling or wrapping an infant in a thin, cozy blanket is what a parent often does to keep her newborn warm. It’s a way to maintain his baby’s body temperature to prevent the risks that come with being vulnerable to feeling cold.

 

A Snug Swaddle Allows Your Baby to Sleep Better

 

Infants are often predisposed to getting startled, causing them to rouse even from a deep slumber. Swaddling your little one can help mitigate, if not totally eliminate the frequency of startle responses, enabling him to sleep longer. We can’t emphasize enough how important sleep is to infants. Having enough sleep allows them to reach their developmental milestones much more quickly, developing healthy body and brain functions as they grow.

 

Having said that, don’t be alarmed if your newborn has short sleep cycles. Sleeping in short bursts between 20 to 50 minutes is normal. However, we can improve their sleep cycle by keeping them snug in a swaddle.

Swaddling Can Lower Your Baby’s Stress Level

A newborn is used to being sheltered, comfortably nestled in his mother’s womb. Thus, once he’s born, he will instinctively crave that warm, cozy comfort he once relished in what was once his natural habitat, his cocoon for nine months.

 

Swaddling can help him calm down by replicating that familiar comfort, bundling him up in the snug, soothing warmth of the coziest blanket you can find.

 

Additionally, based on a study, babies born earlier than their due date can benefit from

a swaddle. Swaddling can pacify an agitated premature baby. There’s also a visible improvement in their neuromuscular development and a slight increase in muscle tone in swaddled babies.

 

Disadvantages

 

Swaddling, with all its benefits, can quickly turn problematic with damaging consequences, causing harm if it’s not done the right way. Often, these severe repercussions occur when we insist on swaddling an infant that’s beginning to get more lively or active, usually once the baby turns a few weeks old.

 

Suffocation

 

Once the baby becomes more spirited or active, he’ll attempt to release himself from his swaddle. The ensuing outcome? It can increase the likelihood of smothering —the baby can choke on his blanket as it comes loose and undone, covering his face, and ends up gasping for breath.

 

Overheating 

 

One of the reasons why we swaddle a baby is to keep him from feeling cold and stay comfortable. However, as with everything else, too much of anything isn’t good. The risk of overheating is very likely when babies are swaddled as they’re incapable of regulating their body temperature.

 

And what’s the danger of overheating in babies? They will not only develop heat rush but can also make them susceptible to SID or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome during sleep. To avoid overheating your little one, use a flimsy swaddle blanket and never add anything to it. Doing so will allow you to provide just the right amount of heat, keeping him from feeling scorched.

 

Hip Problems

 

Wrapping a baby tight in a blanket can make him succumb to hip injuries. A baby’s hips are still frail and fragile. As such, wrapping it too tightly with a swaddle can result in a dislocated hip bone. To ensure your baby isn’t swaddled dangerously tight, you should be able to stick your two fingers between the swaddle and your baby’s chest.

 

Should I Swaddle My Newborn at Night?

 

Provided you follow safety protocols when swaddling your baby, you can, by all means, wrap your little sweetheart in a swaddle at night. Swaddled babies often feel more calm, and, therefore, sleep better as they get to experience the same level of warmth and coziness they once had while nestled in their mommy’s womb.

 

How Long Can You Swaddle a Baby Each Day?

 

12-20 hours per day is the recommended amount of time parents can keep their little ones wrapped in a swaddle blanket. This is based on the recommendation of AAP ( The American Academy of Pediatrics ). However, if your baby refuses to be swaddled, you may try using a sleep sack, which is more comfy than a regular swaddle.

 

Key Takeaways

 

Using a swaddle blanket on your baby has its upsides and drawbacks. Thus, being mindful in following the proper guidelines when swaddling your little one is crucial to ensure his long-term health, thriving and growing into a physically fit, stronger baby.