To Swaddle or Not Swaddle

​Mayday, mayday! Swaddling is in danger! Rumor has it that many hospitals in the US are moving away from swaddling their neonates and infants. This is a travesty. 

If tight quarters weren't necessary for neonates, why is the womb like a studio apartment? Why not let baby hang out all loosey goosey and float aimlessly inutero?

Babies like containment! They need boundaries otherwise they feel lost in space and as if they're falling, igniting the fight or flight response in their nervous system.

Anthropologists believe that human once has a twelve month gestational period. This is why the first three months of a newborn's life is called the "fourth trimester" and babies have traditionally remained swaddled or worn snuggly during this crucial period of growth and attachment.

The dangers of hospitals moving away from swaddling are far greater than one may realize. We'll likely see increased length of stays in hospitals, increased need for medications, physical therapy, decreased success breastfeeding, increased post partum depression rates in mothers, and the long term effects may include a plethora of emotional and neurological deficits. 

Woombie Med Pods were created out of a passion for swaddling and the developmental benefits of the practice for neonates and infans. Help us by spreading the word about swaddling and encourage your hospitals to bring Woombie Med Pods onto the units where babies are cared for!

---