Health visitor - no swaddles allowed!

Never heard of this before due to my first baby being able to break out of his swaddle any type I tried with my newborn I used the togged sleep suits from sainsburys they have arms and legs but are thick and cosy as it’s now cold he has a short sleeve vest on with a normal babygrow then a 2.5 tog sleep suit the health visitor has never had an issue and neither has the midwife (mine visited more than usual due to c-section complications) xx

Bollocks... I swaddled my LG until she was six months until she started to roll. And I'm 1000% sure other mums would agree... You do what you are comfortable with as long as your baby is safe and you're happy and confident with it ..swaddle hun. it makes them feel like they are still part of you and in the womb, so they sleep a little better as they feel safe xxx

My midwife at the hospital swaddled mine as she was unsettled. I would take health visitors with a pinch of salt. Swaddling is only unsafe once they start rolling which is why you then use the bags with arm holes ☺️

I think it’s sometimes advised against as there could be a risk of overheating and SIDS. In my area the new midwives are told not to swaddle. The older midwives swaddled my baby at the hospital and when I asked the student midwife to do it she said she was told not to and double checked this with her senior who confirmed. I have never swaddled since coming home and started using sleeping bags when my baby fit into them. At the end of the day you should do what you think is best for your baby x

I am a HV and maybe the way she has explained it has come across that way it it’s not that it’s “not allowed” it’s just that safe sleep advice from lullaby trust has some guidance around it. There is a certain way babies should be swaddled if you want to do it, it can interfere with feeding cues and self soothing if not done properly and if babies can’t move in the right way they can overheat all of which can increase the risk of sudden infant death. I swaddled my own but it’s a case of making sure you know all the facts and how to minimise the risk and what products to use and avoid. Midwives in hospitals will swaddle but they view it as baby is watched more because more people around unlike at home when you fall asleep you are a bit more out of it.

Depends on age and development of baby. If they’re close to rolling it’s not safe!

I used the halo sleep sack to swaddle my first, felt very comfortable given that it's endorsed by the lullaby trust 😊 I didn't like just using a blanket. I felt there was too much room for error with potential overheating or it coming loose and becoming a suffocation risk. Likewise I wouldn't buy the cheap untested swaddle sacks, just for my own peace of mind x

So swaddling suppresses the startle reflex which is why it aids sleep but the startle reflex is protective of SIDS which is why it’s not now recommended like it used to be. You also need to be careful of leg/ hip positioning there should be room for movement of the hips to avoid issues with their development. Ultimately it’s personal choice and they can’t stop you don’t anything. It’s your baby and your choice to make x

My baby loved to be swaddles for the first 4-5 weeks then he didn’t. I’d just make sure you’re using the right size if you’re usually the Velcro or zip ones and if you’re using a blanket just make sure they can’t unravel it. I was never told it’s not safe. I can see a blanket swaddle causing issues though but 🤷🏻‍♀️

My baby was 7 weeks early and the nurses in NICU literally taught me how to swaddle him. It comforted him so much that we carried on for ages after coming home. He’s in sleep bags now, transitioned to them at around 3 months because he was starting to put hand to mouth to soothe if he woke in the night. Love a swaddle!

The midwives swaddled my son as soon as he was born and the days we stayed in the hospital after my emergency c-section 😅 We then swaddled him at home for a few weeks until he started moving around more. No idea why a HV would give you that advice 🤦🏼‍♀️

Swaddling is absolutely okay until they can roll over by themselves when they can roll over you need to ditch the swaddle just keep in mind the room temperature when swaddling and make sure that baby isn’t too hot xx

@Louise what’s the alternative? Is it blankets? X

Health visitors are ridiculous! It’s not “not allowed” just the recommendation is not too. Safe sleep guidelines is flat on back in an empty cot with feet to the bottom of the cot. No loose blankets. Swaddling can be effective when babies are little but there is a risk of over heating and some babies just don’t like it. Do what works for you and your baby

Did she say why??

Honestly, idk why you guys even have these so called health visitors. Most often I’m seeing them give HORRIBLE, outdated, and fear-based, advice. Swaddle your baby, mother according to your own instincts and intuition, and please take everything someone else tells you (even the “highly qualified”) with a grain of salt if it goes against what you feel is right!

Odd my HV said the sleep sack that swaddles was great until they can turn over and then you can't use it

@Ellen she said there’s too high a risk of overheating!

@Louise ah ok - yes the wording she used was that it goes against advice and safe sleeping regulations and they will be checking how I get my baby to sleep when they come round! Which has made me a bit nervous as if that’s how she sleeps best why would I want to change it I understand about overheating but if I’m checking her and don’t put too many layers on and have a Thermometer in the room then surely that’s ok? Xx

I’ve never heard this before, the midwives at the hospital showed me how to do it

Mine told me not to swaddle them whilst they sleep because they use their arms to regulate temperature… no clue on the truth behind that but I tend not to swaddle whilst he sleeps!

The midwife swaddled my baby after birth a couple months ago!

Updated advice is against swaddling now We were told not to swaddle our baby, and we didn’t! We safely used a blanket tucked into mattress until she weighed enough to safely use a sleeping bag She did wake up when we would tuck blanket in though. Once we used sleeping bag it was much better But I always will follow updated advice because theres research and reasonings into it If you do swaddle, look on lullaby trust at least to do it in the safest way possible

@Phoebe yeh or sleeping bags that fit well.

@Be it’s one of our key things that we have to document that we’ve discussed about safe sleep and we always follow lullaby trust advice as they are the gold standard for reducing risk. If you do things that reduce the risk then that’s even better. I think sometimes staff don’t explain things in the best ways but you have to do what’s right for you and reduce risk where you can.

Thanks everyone that’s really helpful