When to swaddle
Swaddling your baby | Pregnancy Birth and Baby
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Swaddling or wrapping your newborn baby can help settle them to sleep and reduce awakenings. While swaddling is fairly easy to do, there are a few rules to follow for your baby's safety.
Why swaddle?
Swaddling can help calm a baby — it is thought that swaddling helps recreate the restricted space in the womb.
Some studies have shown that swaddled babies wake less frequently and sleep longer than non-swaddled babies.
Swaddling may also help reduce the risk of sudden infant death by keeping babies on their back during sleep.
When to swaddle?
Swaddling is for very young babies — from birth to when they begin to show signs they can roll over (usually 4 to 6 months old but sometimes younger).
When not to swaddle?
Stop swaddling once your baby can roll onto their tummy or if your baby does not seem to like it. An alternative to swaddling is to use a safe infant sleeping bag.
Do not swaddle your baby if they share a sleep surface with another person. Babies should not be wrapped while sleeping in a baby sleeping bag.
How to swaddle?
- Use a lightweight cotton or muslin wrap to swaddle your baby. Rugs and blankets are not safe for swaddling as they may cause overheating.
- Prevent overheating by making sure your baby is not over-dressed under the wrap. If the weather is warm, your baby may only need a singlet and nappy. In cooler weather, your baby may need a lightweight jumpsuit.
- Newborn babies are usually swaddled with their arms folded across their chest. Once their startle reflex is gone (usually around 3 months), leave your baby’s arms free so they can self soothe.
- Ensure that your baby is on their back with their feet at the bottom of the cot.
Do not cover your baby’s head and face. This is to prevent your baby from overheating and from the wrap blocking their breathing. - For effective swaddling, the wrap must be firm but not too tight. It should allow your baby’s chest to rise normally during breathing.
- The wrap should not be too tight around your baby’s hips and legs. Studies have shown that tight wrapping with the legs held straight can lead to hip problems such as hip dysplasia or dislocation. If swaddled correctly, your baby’s legs should be able to bend at the hips with the knees apart.
Swaddling (wrapping) a newborn - video
Video provided by Raising Children Network.
Always put your baby to sleep on their back to reduce the risk of sudden infant death.
Read more about safe sleep for babies and for support or advice, call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby on 1800 882 436.
Sources:
Raising Children Network (Wrapping a baby - in pictures), Red Nose (Wrapping or swaddling babies), Victorian Paediatric Orthopaedic Network (Safe wrapping for hip dysplasia)Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: January 2021
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Related pages
- Sleep and settling your baby
- Swaddling - dos and don’ts
Need more information?
Wrapping or Swaddling Babies | Red Nose Australia
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Is it Safe to Wrap/Swaddle My Baby? | Red Nose Australia
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Wrapping your Baby
The reflexes of newborn babies often startle them easily and tend to wake them during sleep. Many parents have found that wrapping babies until they’re three to four months old (the time when these reflexes begin to disappear) helps reduce strong startle reactions and improves sleep.
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How to wrap a baby | Raising Children Network
See how to wrap a baby in this video. Wrapping can reduce SUDI and SIDS risk by keeping babies on their backs during sleep. It can also soothe babies.
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How to wrap a baby: illustrated guide | Raising Children Network
See how to wrap a baby in our illustrated, step-by-step guide. Wrapping can soothe some babies. It also reduces SUDI and SIDS risks. View, print or download.
Read more on raisingchildren.net.au website
Swaddling - dos and don’ts
Swaddling can help calm a baby and while it is fairly easy to do, there are a few rules to follow for your baby’s safety.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
How to wrap your baby | Sleep and Settling Technique - YouTube
Sleep and settling is the number one topic we are asked about at Karitane. Often it can be the reflexes of newborn babies that startle them to wake. As a hel...
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Dummy independence: teaching your baby | Raising Children Network
Dummy independence is when babies can put their dummies in by themselves.
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A crying baby needs love and attention. There are many things parents can do to settle a crying baby.
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How and When to Swaddle Your Baby
Keywords
Dani Kurtz
Mothers have been swaddling their babies for thousands of years.
Whether you're a new parent or a veteran, you could probably use the extra sleep that swaddling your baby will provide.
Unfortunately, swaddling your baby might seem like somewhat of an art form. Wrap this, tuck that. It can feel confusing, especially when you're up for a 3 a.m. feeding. Learning and practicing the art of swaddling your baby will help you get more sleep. It will also help your baby feel more secure and comforted, just like he was in the womb.
Why swaddle?
You might be thinking that swaddling your baby every time they go to sleep (which is a lot) seems like a lot of work, but there are many benefits to swaddling your baby. Here are some you and your baby will experience:
- Swaddling protects your baby against their natural startle reflex, which means better sleep for both of you
- It may help calm a colicky baby
- It helps eliminate anxiety in your baby by imitating your touch, which helps your baby learn to self-sooth
- It keeps her hands off her face and helps prevent scratching
- It helps your baby sleep longer and better
- It helps prevent SIDS by keeping unnecessary items like pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals out of your baby's crib
- It keeps your baby on his back while he sleeps
How to swaddle your baby
If you've never swaddled a baby, it might seem like a complicated process.
But it doesn't have to be. Practice the following steps a few times and you'll be a pro.
- Spread out your swaddling blanket on a soft, flat surface. Arrange the blanket in a diamond shape with the bottom of the diamond pointing toward you.
- Fold down the top edge of the blanket. This should create a loose triangle shape. Set your baby with his feet pointing toward you. His shoulder should be just below the fold in the blanket.
- Arrange you baby's right arm next to his body with his arm slightly bent. Pull that same side of the blanket up and over your baby's right arm and body, then tuck it underneath your baby. Your baby's left arm should be left free.
- Fold the bottom of the swaddle blanket up over your baby's feet. If the blanket is long enough, tuck it behind his shoulder.
- Complete the swaddle by pulling the remaining side of the swaddle up and over your baby's remaining arm and across his body.
Safety tips
Although swaddling comes with numerous benefits, you need to make sure you're doing it right to avoid danger or discomfort for your baby. Follow these safety tips:
- Don't wrap too tight. Swaddling your baby tight enough that he can't move his hips or legs may limit the development of the hip. Aim for a tight enough swaddle that will hold your baby's arms firm, without completely immobilizing her entire body.
- Always lay your baby down on his back after swaddling.
- Stop swaddling your baby as soon as he can roll over.
- Don't double up on blankets when you swaddle. The extra thickness could cause your baby to overheat. It can also dislodge easier, which adds to the risk of suffocation.
Swaddling your baby is a great way to get him to sleep better. When your baby sleeps better, so do you.
Once you learn how to swaddle a baby, you'll know how to do it in your sleep (literally)!
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Last Updated: 11/16/2018
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why and up to what age swaddling is needed
Daniil Davydov
medical journalist
Author profile
According to experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, postpartum swaddling calms the baby and reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.
But so that the benefits do not outweigh the harm, you need to swaddle children correctly - and abandon this practice as soon as the child begins to roll over. This usually happens at 2-4 months of age.
See a doctor
Our articles are written with love for evidence-based medicine. We refer to authoritative sources and go to doctors with a good reputation for comments. But remember: the responsibility for your health lies with you and your doctor. We don't write prescriptions, we make recommendations. Relying on our point of view or not is up to you.
Why swaddling is considered beneficial
Pediatricians have two arguments in favor of infant swaddling.
Swaddled babies sleep better. Infant swaddling soothes babies, and because the baby is less anxious, he falls asleep more easily. The researchers suggest that this is because the pressure of the diaper reminds the child of the sensations that he experienced even before birth, that is, in a calm and safe mother's womb.
Why Swaddling Calms Your Baby - Harvard Medical School
Baby Sleeps Longer and Wakes Less Often in Swaddles - American Academy of Pediatrics, AAP
Swaddling reduces the risk of SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is the sudden, unexpected and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant.
What is SIDS - Mayo Clinic
The cause of this condition is still unknown, but scientists suspect that it may be a violation of the structure of the brain area that controls breathing during sleep. Similar problems often occur in premature babies, whose nervous system has not had time to mature to the end, and in children with congenital neurological disorders.
In addition to congenital disorders in the respiratory center, SIDS has other risk factors. Swaddling helps eliminate at least one of them - sleeping on your stomach or on your side. The respiratory muscles in infants are still very weak, so it is harder for the child to breathe in such positions. If he has other risk factors for SIDS, sleeping in a dangerous position increases the risk of respiratory arrest. A swaddled baby who is put to sleep on his back will not be able to accidentally roll over onto his back or stomach, and this reduces the likelihood that he will suffocate.
SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths - AAP guidelines
What are the risks of swaddling? Babies do not yet know how to sweat as profusely as adults, so their bodies heat up much faster. The temperature that an adult can tolerate without damage to health can lead to a baby's heat stroke - up to and including fatal brain damage.
The dangers of overheating for babies - National Institute of Child Health
How to Avoid Baby Overheating - National Institutes of Health, NIH
To avoid overheating, it is recommended to keep baby's rooms between 16-20°C.
Although it may seem too cold for an adult accustomed to central heating, for a child who does not yet know how to sweat, this temperature is optimal.
To prevent the baby from overheating in too warm underwear, it is recommended to follow one of two strategies:
- Only wear one layer of clothing per child. That is, the child should sleep either in baby clothes or in a diaper, but not in both at the same time. If the baby is hot, his cheeks are red, and his forehead and hair are damp, he is too hot.
- Instead of a diaper, use a blanket tucked under the mattress. This method is suitable if parents want a dressed child to sleep better. The baby will not overheat if you put him closer to the foot of the bed, cover him with a blanket no higher than chest level and tuck the ends of the blanket under the mattress. Covering a child with a loose blanket, that is, not tucked under the mattress, is life-threatening.
How to protect your baby during sleep: 9 rules for parents
How to put your baby to sleep.
The child sleeps only in a diaper, without clothes and blankets. Photo: Dmitry Naumov / Shutterstock | The child sleeps in clothes, without a blanket and without a diaper. Photo: Glandwr / iStock | The child sleeps in clothes, with a blanket, but without a diaper. Photo: Instagram account teona.vit |
Up to what age is it recommended to swaddle babies. You can swaddle until the baby has learned to roll over. On average, this happens at the age of two months. But some babies begin to roll over as early as a month or, conversely, do not roll over until four months. Therefore, in order not to miss the moment when you need to stop swaddling, it is important to monitor the physical development of the child.
If the baby has already learned to roll over, swaddling does not reduce, but increases the risk of SIDS. If a swaddled baby rolls over on his stomach or on his side, then in diapers it will be difficult for him to turn on his back.
Swaddling is a risk factor for SIDS for a baby older than two months - a guide for doctors Uptodate
How to swaddle your baby correctly
Can there be consequences for improper swaddling. If the baby is swaddled too loosely, the swaddle may unroll, increasing the risk of suffocation.
But you shouldn't swaddle your baby too tightly either. To reduce the risk of future hip problems, the baby should be able to move and bend their legs in the diaper.
Why You Shouldn't Swaddle Baby's Legs Too Tight - American Academy of Family Physicians
Mayo Clinic pediatricians advise swaddling your baby like this: Among the many questions new parents ask, one of the most important is the question of swaddling. To do it or not, if to do it, in what way.
Pediatrician of the highest category of polyclinic No. 2 KGBUZ "KKTsOMD No. 2" Elena Alexandrovna Antipina gives a detailed answer.
Why do they do it
I would like to immediately note that the swaddling itself has several functions: the chaotic movements of the child were limited in order to avoid a sudden fright if the baby touches his face or body with a pen.
The newborn felt more secure. The diaper limits the space and resembles the cocoon in which he was in the womb. Well, and of course, so that the baby does not freeze while lying in the crib.
For and against
Among the positive arguments for swaddling children are: maintaining body temperature; fixation of limbs; more restful sleep; ensuring the comfort of the newborn. In addition, swaddling is a mandatory measure for children with congenital pathologies of the arms or legs, as well as for premature babies.
There are not so many negative points and they belong to the conservative method. The main disadvantages of swaddling are: the inability to adjust the temperature. Because of this, the baby overheats. Diaper rash, diaper dermatitis appear on the baby's skin. The constant presence in a thick warm diaper leads to insufficient physical and emotional development.
Tight swaddling
I would call this method “grandmothers”, they were very fond of having the whole body tightened in the baby.
However, this method has more disadvantages than advantages. In this position, the movements of the child will be unnatural and constrained. Blood circulation and heat exchange may be disturbed. However, in some cases, when the child is hyperactive, or there are developmental pathologies, this technique will help to calm him down faster. Then it is recommended to swaddle the baby tighter, when he sleeps.
Loose swaddling
Free or wide swaddling is a more gentle option, in which the baby is given the opportunity to move his legs and arms a little. A variation of this method is wrapping only the lower extremities. In this case, the full straightening of the legs is not performed. On the contrary, they are given a free, relaxed position.
Is it necessary to swaddle a newborn
Pediatricians, based on the results of numerous studies, are advised to take a closer look at the baby's temperament and wrap it up depending on the activity.
