UK Wedding News
29/10/2013
The trend had lessened in popularity, due to fears that it could overheat a baby and restrict growth, but in recent years, the demand for swaddling clothes has increased by almost two-thirds in the UK alone.
However, Professor Nicholas Clark, who is a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, wrote in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood that there is increasing evidence that swaddling can lead to hip abnormalities.
Professor Clarke added that binding or bundling babies in blankets with their arms restrained and the lower limbs extended may force the hips to straighten and shift forward, leading to a risk of misalignment which could lead to osteoarthritis and hip replacement in middle age. Hip dislocation is also a risk. In Japan, a programme to encourage grandmothers away from the practice of swaddling their grandchildren has halved the rate of hip dislocation, it added.
One baby in five is born with a hip abnormality but factors after birth also have a role and swaddling may delay improvement, Professor Clarke explained, but stressed that swaddling can be safe – it the baby's legs are able to bend up and out at the hips.
He wrote: "Commercial products for swaddling should have a loose pouch or sack for the babies' legs and feet, allowing plenty of hip movement."
He also said mothers should be advised on how to swaddle their children safely.
Jane Munro of the Royal College of Midwives said: "There are concerns about the growing use of swaddling because of the possibility of overheating the baby, and the increased risk of cot death. Also, as this research suggests, swaddling, and especially tight swaddling, may affect the baby's natural posture.
"We advise parents to avoid swaddling, but it is also crucial that we take into account each mother's cultural background."
(JP/IT)
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Swaddling 'Could Damage Babies' Hips'
The traditional practice of swaddling could be damaging to a baby's hips, a British surgeon has warned.The trend had lessened in popularity, due to fears that it could overheat a baby and restrict growth, but in recent years, the demand for swaddling clothes has increased by almost two-thirds in the UK alone.
However, Professor Nicholas Clark, who is a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, wrote in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood that there is increasing evidence that swaddling can lead to hip abnormalities.
Professor Clarke added that binding or bundling babies in blankets with their arms restrained and the lower limbs extended may force the hips to straighten and shift forward, leading to a risk of misalignment which could lead to osteoarthritis and hip replacement in middle age. Hip dislocation is also a risk. In Japan, a programme to encourage grandmothers away from the practice of swaddling their grandchildren has halved the rate of hip dislocation, it added.
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One baby in five is born with a hip abnormality but factors after birth also have a role and swaddling may delay improvement, Professor Clarke explained, but stressed that swaddling can be safe – it the baby's legs are able to bend up and out at the hips.
He wrote: "Commercial products for swaddling should have a loose pouch or sack for the babies' legs and feet, allowing plenty of hip movement."
He also said mothers should be advised on how to swaddle their children safely.
Jane Munro of the Royal College of Midwives said: "There are concerns about the growing use of swaddling because of the possibility of overheating the baby, and the increased risk of cot death. Also, as this research suggests, swaddling, and especially tight swaddling, may affect the baby's natural posture.
"We advise parents to avoid swaddling, but it is also crucial that we take into account each mother's cultural background."
(JP/IT)
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