Swaddling Baby Blankets
DO SWADDLING BABY BLANKETS PROMOTE SAFE AND SOUND SLEEP? - WHAT RESEARCHERS SAY
In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggested that parents avoid placing babies on their stomachs (prone position) to sleep. Any baby sleeping face down risks having baby blankets cover or partially cover its face. When this happens, baby blankets may cause what researchers refer to as "rebreathing." Rebreathing refers to breathing exhaled air that is high in carbon dioxide and lower in oxygen, resulting in mild asphyxia.
Modern studies have indicated the recommendation that healthy babies should sleep on their backs or sides has resonated with many parents and as a result the number of Sudden Infant Deaths (SIDS) cases has dropped significantly in the United States. Data show that babies sleeping on their backs (supine) are safer than those placed on their sides, however, both are safer than stomach sleeping.
Swaddling Baby Blankets and Safe Sleep Positioning
Swaddling baby blankets, which help baby remain on its back during sleep, have been common in countless cultures throughout history. Despite the fact that sleeping supine decreases the risk of SIDS, however, a significant number of parents continue to resist placing baby to sleep on its back because they believe it is uncomfortable for their baby. These parents should consider the following findings.
New Zealand researchers found that more than one quarter of babies who died unexpectedly during sleep were found completely covered by bedding. It concluded that infants surrounded by bedding might have succumbed to "asphyxial stress." Swaddling baby blankets make this condition less likely because babies are not as mobile and sleep sounder when swaddled (see below).
A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that if more babies were put to sleep on their backs, a process made easier by swaddling baby blankets, there would be a significantly lowered risk of babies becoming trapped or covered by bedding. The article suggested that educational programs for parents on basic sleep safety for babies would "have the potential to save many lives."
Swaddling Baby Blankets and Sound Sleep
In addition to their safety benefits, swaddling baby blankets are also widely believed to promote longer periods of uninterrupted sleep. A recent study also published in Pediatrics indicates that is indeed the case. It concluded, "swaddling favors sleep continuity."
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine believe babies often awake due to reflexive "brainstem arousals." Such arousals can start out as sighing and then progress to more physical startle and thrash reactions. Their study found that swaddling baby blankets have "a significant inhibitory effect on progression of arousals from brainstem to full arousals involving the cortex." That means a better night's sleep for both baby and parents!
The Washington study went on to conclude that safe swaddling baby blankets can "help parents keep their infants in the supine sleep position and thereby prevent the sudden infant death syndrome risks associated with the prone sleep position."