Swaddling

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Origin and history

Mothers have swaddled their babies throughout history.

Archaeological records suggest that swaddling first developed around 4000 B.C. in Central Asia with use of the back-pack cradle board by migrating peoples. As desertification progressed, migration from region to region became a relatively permanent way of life. Swaddling subsequently became an institutionalized part of child-rearing tradition in those same areas.DeMeo,James Ph.D., Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence, In the Deserts of the Old World, 2006 Revised Second Edition]

Votive statuettes have been found in the tombs of Ancient Greek and Roman women who died in childbirth, displaying babies in swaddling clothes. In shrines dedicated to Amphiaraus, models representing babies wrapped in swaddling clothes have been excavated. Apparently, these were frequently given as thank-offerings by anxious mothers when their infants had recovered from sickness. C.J.S. Thompson M.B.E. curator, [http://www.aisa.it/medicina_nei_secoli/offerte_votive/votive_offering.htm Greco-roman votive offerings for health in the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum] , London: Hazell, Watson and Viney]

Probably the most famous record of swaddling is found in the New Testament concerning the birth of Jesus:

The oriental swaddling clothes consisted of a square of cloth and two or more bandages. The child was laid on the cloth diagonally and the corners are folded over the feet and body and under the head, the bandages then being tied so as to hold the cloth in position. This device formed the clothing of the child until it is about a year old, and its omission (Ezekiel 16:4) would be a token that the child had been abandoned.International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1915]

, the children wore several caps, a shirt, a square band "bed", which bound from the breast to the feet and up again, a long band of swaddling clothes (roller), a tube waistcoat that bound the arms and roller and a blanket.Fact|date=August 2007 A stay band would be attached to the forehead and the shoulders to secure the head. Babies would be swaddled like this until about 8 or 9 months.Sim, Alison, The Tudor Housewife, page 26, 1998, McGill-Queen's Press]

In the seventeenth century the opinion towards swaddling began to change. John Locke, in his 1693 publication "Some Thoughts Concerning Education", became a lobbyist for not bounding babies at all. This thought was very controversial during the time, but slowly gained ground, first in England and later elsewhere in Europe.

For instance Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote in his book , 1762:

baby
Edward S. Curtis, 1911] Although the extreme form of swaddling has fallen out of favour in the Western world, many Eastern cultures and tribal people still use it. Some researchers have been shocked that the practice continues today. [ [http://birthpsychology.com/primalhealth/primal9.html] – article by Michel Odent, M.D.]

Modern swaddling

. Today, many midwives swaddle infants soon after birth and it is now a standard newborn care practice in many hospitals. Swaddling also prevents newborns waking themselves with their startle reflex.

Looser wrappings, tucked but not tied, can generally be kicked off by a wakeful baby. They are still useful for keeping the baby warm, without increasing the SIDS risk, because the wrappings stay well clear of the baby's face and airway. This assumes that the baby is put to sleep on its back, as anti-SIDS precautions recommend. By the time the baby is learning to roll over, often around 6 months, it should be sleeping in less restrictive coverings - so it has more freedom to respond when it succeeds in rolling over.

Modern specialised baby swaddles are designed to make it easier to swaddle a baby than with traditional square sheets or blankets. They are typically fabric blankets in a triangle, 'T' or 'Y' shape, with 'wings' that fold around the baby's torso or down over the baby's shoulders and around underneath the infant. Some of these products employ velcro patches or other fasteners. Fabrics used include synthetic 'fleece', cotton, organic cotton, and cotton/synthetic blends. A Spandex/cotton fabric is widely used, which provides more stretch than cotton alone. The synthetic content of the fabric is not always required to be disclosed.

At least one modern baby swaddle uses merino fabric. This use of merino in a specialised baby swaddle seeks to combine the health benefits from using merino bedding for newborn babies [Scott, S., and Richards, M. 1983. Lambswool is safer for babies. Nursing low-birthweight babies on lambswool. Lancet, pp 556.] [Australian Wool Innovation, Proof of the attributes of Australian Merino; Health; Benefits of Merino for babies, [http://www.merinoinnovation.com/awi/en/Home/about+merino/Proof/proof_health_en www.merinoinnovation.com] 2008] with the idea of an easy-to-use specialised baby swaddle blanket. The chief benefits expounded for the use of a merino baby swaddle are the reduction in the risk of the baby overheating compared to other fabrics, and the baby's ability to move its limbs while swaddled due to the natural stretch of the merino fabric.

Medical studies

Some medical studies maintain that swaddling appears to be a positioning technique that can enhance neuromuscular development of the very low birth weight infant and that it might have a role in further lowering SIDS risk Franco P, Scaillet S, Groswasser J, Kahn A., Increased cardiac autonomic responses to auditory challenges in swaddled infants, Sleep, December 2004] M.A. Short, J.A. Brooks-Brunn, D.S. Reeves, J. Yeager and J.A. Thorpe., The effect of swaddling versus standard positioning on neuromuscular development in very low birth weight infants, Neonatal Network, 15 (4) p. 25-31, 1996.] Research has also found that swaddling helps infants sleep with fewer awakenings and stay in REM sleep longer. McNamara F, Lijowksa A and Thach BT. Spontaneous Arousal Activity in Infants during NREM and REM sleep. J Appl Physiol 2002, 538(1)263-269]

However, the psychologist Arthur Janov claims that even this form of swaddling has profound effects on the adult emotional life of a swaddled child. He claims that swaddling causes a lifelong deficit on oxytocin and oversupply of cortisol, resulting in a lifetime of rage and anxieties, though he does not offer a neurophysiological mechanism by which this might take place in humans. [cite book
last = Janov
first = Arthur
title = The Biology of Love
publisher = Prometheus Books
date = 2000] One study has found that rats lose hormones in the hippocampus and orbital frontal lobes when tied up like swaddled human infants, developing depletions in serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, exacerbated aggressive behavior and a severe decrease of social capabilities. [ cite book
last = Perry
first = Bruce D.
title = “Neurobiological sequelae of childhood trauma: PTSD in children” in Michele Murburg: Catecholamine Function in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Emerging Concepts
publisher = American Psychiatric Press
date = 1994
pages = 223-254]

References

ee also

* Infant's binder
* Psychohistory

External links

* [http://www.realtechmom.com/2008/07/how-my-baby-bec.html The easiest way to swaddle your baby, including videos and diagrams]
* [http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2006/07/swaddling-your-baby.html Swaddling Your Baby] , University of Florida/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences
* [http://sharonburnston.com/baby_linen/swaddling.html 18th Century Baby Swaddling Photo Series] , Sharon Ann Burnston
* [http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/eln08_childrearing.html Swaddling in an historical context of child abuse]
* [http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/costume/unisex/swaddling_band/index.html Swaddling band in The V&A Museum of Childhood]
* [http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/bulla.jpgTerracotta of swaddled infant in Royal Museum of Art and History, Brussels]
* [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/886021/help_your_baby_to_sleep/ Swadding Video.Help your baby to sleep.]