Doctor Komarovsky about swaddling and how to wean him

Even 20 years ago, the parents of the newborns were much calmer: they did not face the burning question of whether or not to swaddle the child. Then swaddled everyone, and it was normal.

Today, opponents of swaddling neurosis bring another pregnant woman who decided to ask the Internet whether to swaddle her child after birth. Prisoners are threatened with developmental delays, muscular clamps and convulsions, disorders of the nervous system.

Dr. Komarovsky tells how to treat diapers, swaddle or not, and how old it can be done.

The diaper, according to Komarovsky, can rightly be considered the oldest element of children's clothing. Its use has historically been justified - it protected babies from the external environment, later it became a way to save on clothes, because kids grow up very quickly, and you can’t eat enough ordinary clothes.

For a long time, swaddling had no alternatives. Soviet doctors strongly recommended swaddling and doing it more tightly so that “the legs should be leveled”, as well as “that the character should not show.” But gradually, the views on swaddling changed.

At some point, the public generally came to the conclusion that the diaper is a violation of the personality of a baby, which adults do not severely allow to take the position that they themselves want in accordance with their physiological current needs.

Tight swaddling recorded in the list of harmful and dangerous. As an alternative, mothers who remained without swaddling were offered free swaddling. With such swaddling, the child has the opportunity to move his arms and legs, he easily and naturally breathes and in general - his rights and freedoms are fully respected. But here it was not so simple.

A loosely swaddled baby does not look as neat and presentable as a newborn, who was turned into an even “column” with the help of a diaper. This, according to Komarovsky, may not suit the grandmothers and other relatives of the older generation.

But this is not the worst. Not so long ago, messages appeared with reference to authoritative (but unfamiliar to anyone, however) sources who assured all young mothers and those who are preparing to join their ranks that any swaddling is harm and danger. Psychologists have appeared who argue that swaddled children will not be initiative, independent in their adult state, that their psychomotor processes are being inhibited.

Therefore, to give swaddling so much importance is irrational, silly. Psychologists, foaming at the mouth proving the harm from swaddling, also grew in diapers, recalls Yevgeny Olegovich.

Is it dangerous to swaddle? No, not dangerous. Is it helpful not to swaddle? Exactly the same extent as swaddle. And he and another way to raise a baby in the first months of his life have the right to exist. How a person grows up depends on his genetic characteristics, upbringing received in childhood, temperament, education, his health, psychological climate in the family, but not on the absence or presence of diapers at the very tender age.

There is not a single convincing scientific study that proves the harm from swaddling on the physical, even on the psychological level, for a baby.

Komarovsky encourages parents to remain calm and independently choose whether to swaddle or not. Any option will be reasonable, true and, of course, useful for the baby.

According to Komarovsky, spreading frightening stories about the unfortunate fate of all those who are swaddled is beneficial to manufacturers and sellers of children's clothing. Usually beautiful miniature things on a crumbs with velvet and other small charms are several orders of magnitude more expensive than regular rectangular diapers, even if the latter are large, nice and beautiful. The myth about the dangers of swaddling allows manufacturers and sellers of children's clothes to earn a lot of money.

Partly, the myth about the harmfulness of swaddling is also beneficial for diaper manufacturers, but to a lesser extent, because today most mothers use them regardless of whether they are swaddled or not: they use disposable diapers that are convenient in all respects.

For generations, parents notice that a child in a diaper sleeps more easily - he does not have spontaneous bursts of pens, he doesn’t scratch himself, he doesn’t wake himself in the middle of the night; However, the rejection of the diaper has its advantages. Komarovsky considers the lack of the need to comprehend the science of swaddling. This is not easy, especially with the firstborn, and especially fathers who stay with the baby, if the mother needs to go somewhere else.

In the summer, when it is hot outside, in diapers the child risks overheating more quickly. It is more difficult to wash and dry diapers due to the fact that there is more room for them in hanging condition than for vest, and they dry longer.

These advantages, Komarovsky says, are not so significant and fundamental that parents spend their nerves on resolving this issue. If you want to swaddle (learn to swaddle) - good luck! If you do not want to do this - stock up your pants and vests. According to Yevgeny Komarovsky, this will not affect the health of the child in any way.

The need for a diaper is a child who is diagnosed "hip dysplasia».

Also, a diaper may be necessary if the child categorically refuses to fall asleep without it. In this case, it is not at all necessary to swaddle the child round the clock; you can only swaddle at night until the age at which such a need disappears.

In some babies, swaddling ends in three months, others have to swaddle up to 6-7 months. It is easier to wean the baby from the diaper than it seems. When the time comes, the baby simply refuses it and easily falls asleep without swaddling.

To stop a child to swaddle, if he is against it, just because her friends, neighbors, child psychologists from the Internet or familiar pediatricians so recklessly demand it. Everything has its time.

If you decide to swaddle, choose only diapers from soft and natural fabrics. You also need to carefully monitor that the child did not spend much time in a wet diaper. The diaper has the ability to absorb urine and does not so much irritate delicate baby skin. A wet diaper does not absorb anything, and therefore the likelihood of diaper rash and prickly heat, as well as an allergic reaction to urea, increases.

Recommendations of Dr. Komarovsky about swaddling, see the following video.