Ireland AM - don't swaddle

LegacyUser

I was watching the newborn slot on Ireland AM to prevent cot death today and the midwife said that you absolutely should not swaddle that it was a trend years ago but don't do it now. My midwife in hospital recommended swaddling and I have been doing it since he came home 9 weeks ago.

Which is right?

Any other swaddlers out there?

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

pwurple

It should be something easily isolated and studied... But, I couldn't find any medical studies on swaddling and SIDS two years ago. Just research papers based on other studies... I had a quick look there... and found this, but it's ambiguous.
http://fsid.org.uk/document.doc?id=145

So, unsure.

We part-swaddled, just swaddled her legs and lower torso, left arms and head out. She seemed happier that way.

Neyite

I was told in my ante-natal. Well to be specific, I asked, as they handed out the HSE leaflet linked below and it didnt mention it.

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/Public_Health/publichealthdepts/resources/safesleep.pdf

So I asked the midwife about swaddling and she said they do not recommend it anymore. She did say that whatever about settling them off to sleep in a swaddle, you should not leave them in it for naps or overnight.

Ms2011

Same here, we were told not to swaddle in our antenatal class so we never did. My sister swore by it but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry so never did it.

dublinlady

I was a swaddler
Only way she settled

foodaholic

Mine wouldn't sleep without swaddling - halo sleepsack was amazing , only swaddled her arms ( I called it her straight jacket)

Ayla

I think this - just like every parenting decision - is really down to a lot of common sense. Millions of people worldwide swaddle their babies, and have done so long before the HSE decided to stop recommending it. The difference comes in that now people here tend to put the babes alone in a cot/moses basket, possibly with a sleepsuit/blanket, and if the babe is swaddled they can overheat or get smothered.

Point being, if the babe enjoys being swaddled, and you're attentive to them, then I think common sense prevails.

dublinlady

Meant to say - holles st recommended I swaddle! They showed me how with blankets. When I got home I was given a gro- swaddle which was much lighter and great for the reason Ayla said. I could swaddle her then add or remove blankets!
Worked a treat as our baby was very twitchy!

Davidth88

Both of ours would not settle AT ALL if their arms were not free .

Rotunda for the first recommended swaddling ( 6 years ago ..... jeez where has the time gone !! ) but she just wouldn't have it

kildareash

We were shown how to swaddle in the antenatal classes, but then the nurse who showed us how to bath the baby in the hospital said only to swaddle in the hospital and not to continue it at home!

So much conflicting information about everything pregnancy related, it's mad!

therattler

Trust TV3 to broadcast nonsense. Swaddling is an ancient and safe practice that's still used to this day for a reason.

iguana

foodaholic wrote: »

Mine wouldn't sleep without swaddling - halo sleepsack was amazing , only swaddled her arms ( I called it her straight jacket)

Did you use the microfleece version? If so did the baby ever seem overheated? I'm thinking of getting something like that for the winter months, as we're having a November baby and I never leave the heating on overnight.

foodaholic

I had my daughter in january, so I did use the micro fleece. She seemed very happy in it - didnt over temp in it. I never used anything else with it. When I couldnt use a swaddle anymore I got a Merlin magic sleep suit - it was perfect for weaning her off swaddling

iguana

Thanks, I'm a bit nervous about overheating but we'll only be using it in the bedroom when we are there at night, and the tog values seem low enough to be safe. I'd just rather use all in one bedding at night as it seems easier for nightfeeds and changes.

Suucee

We were told in ante natal classes not to swaddle but when my lil one was born the nurse swaddled her and then another gave out to me for swaddling her until i told her i didnt do it. Just see what the baby prefers. My lil one seemed grand not swaddled, prefered to have her arms free so i didnt keep it up . Started using a gro bag about a month and a half and this was a god send.

lazygal

We used gro bags as soon as baby came home, as she never took to swaddling. Some babies love it, some don't. I follow the guidelines but also take my cues from baby. I often wonder what parents are told to do now that my child will be told not to do because its not safe if she has children!

theLuggage

We never swaddled and hadn't thought of it so never asked advice on how it's done. Thought I would pop a link in here as midwives seem to have differing opinions about whether to swaddle or not based on previous comments, and so they may have different ideas on how to swaddle. As I said we never asked so I don't know what advice is being given, I know if we had just done it ourselves we probably would have straightened the legs - its how I pictured swaddling to be done! Focus on swaddling seems to be on psychological effects rather than physical ones, but I think its important to realise swaddling can have a physical impact too.

http://www.hipdysplasia.org/Developmental-Dysplasia-Of-The-Hip/Hip-Healthy-Swaddling/