What is the meaning of swaddling clothes?

History

• History records mothers swaddling their infants as far back as 4000 B.C. In biblical times, babies were swaddled by washing and salting their skin and then wrapping them in linen or cotton bandages four or five inches wide and five to six yards long. The baby’s legs would be together and his arms would be at his sides. Some cultures placed the strip across the chin and forehead also, while others bound their children using a combination of cloth and a cradle board or a cloth and strips that were tied to hold the cloth and the child’s limbs in place.

  It was believed by some cultures that children needed to be swaddled for their first year or their limbs would not develop properly. An unswaddled child was also considered abandoned by his parents.

Biblical History

• The best-known reference to swaddling clothes is in the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Some historians believe that the Christ child was swaddled in his father’s death cloth as a symbol of his own impending crucifixion.

How to swaddle

• Lay a square cloth in a diamond shape. Fold the top of the diamond down about six inches from the top. Lay the child on the cloth so that the fold runs along the back of his shoulders. Fold one side of the diamond around the baby, tucking his arm at his side. Secure the end of the cloth under his body. Pull the bottom corner of the cloth up and over his legs, folding it under the shoulder on the side that has been wrapped. Pull the last side over the body of the child, tucking the free arm to the child’s side. Wrap all the way around the child and tuck the loose end in.

Benefits of swaddling

• Hospitals swaddle newborns as soon as they are cleaned. Nurses think newborns feel warm and secure when swaddled, just as they were in the womb. Studies have shown that swaddled infants wake fewer times in the night, startle less and get more REM sleep. Parents sleep better as well and don’t have to tend to the child as often. Swaddling a crying infant decreases his blood pressure and the pressure in his brain, both of which become elevated at the onset of distress. A distressed child calms down and relaxes when swaddled. Colic is also alleviated when a baby is swaddled and held upright on the shoulder so that food can be properly digested. Studies show that the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is decreased by swaddling and placing a child on his back to sleep.

When to stop swaddling

• Although infants can be swaddled when they are older, some medical experts advise to stop swaddling the child when he resists by pulling his limbs out or kicking the cloth off. This excludes children who are thrashing because they are distressed.