What are the benefits of swaddling new born babies?
Swaddling helps babies and parents have a restful night
Swaddled babies sleep better. It helps babies feel safe and snug, providing the warmth and security like a mother's womb.
Swaddling reduces the risk of SIDS, giving peace of mind
Swaddling your baby helps keep your baby on his/her back, and keeps the blanket snugly in place (eliminating loose bedding) the two factors that help reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) according to health professionals.
Swaddling calms and comforts colicky and crying babies
Colic, a frustrating and largely unexplained condition, usually starts a few weeks after birth and improves by three months. The cause of colic and why some newborns have colic and others don't is still unknown, though some believe it has to do with gas either from foods in the mother's diet or formula.
The colicky baby tends to be unusually sensitive to stimulation, has difficulty with self-calming, and needs the sensation of the womb to help turn on their calming reflex. Swaddling helps a colic baby by; providing the warmth and security of a mother's womb, reducing stimulation and, providing subtle tummy pressure.
Swaddling helps to reduce the startle reflex
The startle reflex, also known as the Moro reflex, is an involuntary response that will often wake a peacefully sleeping newborn baby. The startle reflex is present at birth and usually disappears between the ages of 3 to 6 months. The startle reflex causes the newborn baby to extend the arms, legs, and fingers and arch the back and typically occurs when an infant is startled by a loud noise or other environmental stimulus or feels that he or she is falling. A quick solution to quiet a baby's startle reflex is to swaddle or wrap the baby securely in a blanket.
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