If you are not swaddling a baby with their arms down, you are NOT following
Dr. Karp's method. I have no issue with swaddling in general. It is the
specific method of arms down I disagree with. And the idea that you are to be
louder than the baby doesn't sit well with me either.
I think the bottom line is I fundamentally disagree with Dr. Karp's
interpretation of a baby's needs and methods of communicating those needs. I think
the web site statement about baby's crying explains why my disagreement with
him is so basic. We do not even agree about why a baby cries.
_http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/book_excerpts.htm_
(http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/book_excerpts.htm) has this excerpt from the book:
"Your baby's shrill cry is powerful enough to yank you out of bed or hoist
you off the toilet with your pants down. (Not bad for a ten-pound weakling!)
However, it is a mistake to think your baby is crying because he's trying to
call you for help. During the first few months, trying to get your attention
is the furthest thing from your crying baby's mind. In fact, the amazing truth
is your baby has absolutely no idea he's even sending you a message.
When you hear your two-week-old scream, you're not getting a communication
from him; rather you're accidentally eavesdropping on his conversation…with
himself."
He may be right and my children cried because it was a reflex and it meant
nothing and they did not really mean to communicate anything to me. Wonder
why I felt so compelled to listen if they were not even trying to tell me
anything. I personally prefer to believe that babies cry to tell us something,
We may not know what it is, but it is not communicating with themselves, it is
not a reflex they need us to help control, but a method of communication
that is the only voice they have. It stands to reason if I see the cry of a
child so differently from his view, I likely see the way to comfort the child
differently also.
For those of you saying "but I used it and I like it" it's okay that we
disagree. For those who are swaddling but allow the babies to have their hands
near their face, please, that is not Dr. Karp's method. He says over and
over in many interviews that the key is the baby's hands down to the side and
very tight. I am not talking about any other swaddling method that provides
comfort of containment but freedom at the same time. Also, the comment that he
supports breastfeeding may be true, but his website has a baby with a
pacifier in the mouth and a baby sucking the tip of someone's finger...no breasts
anywhere. For that matter, the only people holding the baby are the fathers.
Not that I don't love daddies that love their babies, but where is the
nursing mother? I have read many of his interviews and they are all very clear.
The method he is uses is exact and perfect and must be done just so and it
will always work if you do it right.
I don't think it is good for babies to cry. I think it is very important
for babies to feel right in their world so they can be about the business of
breastfeeding properly and learning about their world. I think there are many
ways of accomplishing this that do not require a baby to have arms tight at
their side. I do think bringing hands to face is a feeding cue and preventing
a feeding cue in the breastfeeding baby is not okay. Encouraging longer
sleep stretches in the breastfed baby is not okay if it means less feeding and
less milk and slower weight gain. The difference between breastfed and bottle
fed is who can control the feeding. If the baby is encouraged to delay
feeding and it is a bottle, fine, mom can pour in more. But, for a breastfeeding
mom it means a lowered milk supply from the constant delaying of nursing
meaning full breasts signaling too much milk. Breasts need frequent emptying to
produce a full supply of milk. Stretching feedings is not an ideal way to
encourage an optimum milk supply for most women. Making a baby wait to eat
does not mean a comfortable and relaxed feeding for most newborns.
Like any other 'tool' parents are given the possibility exists for it to be
misused. In my experience parents are using this method to encourage longer
sleep stretches and fewer feedings. The baby is extremely hungry and
agitated before getting fed and then mom feels overwhelmed with the crying baby
trying to latch. I repeat that I can see that Dr. Karp has the best of intentions
and hopes to help families calm their babies without abuse. I only wish he
had a clearer understanding of breastfeeding cue feeding and the use of a
baby's hands. But, I hear the masses saying "but it works so well".
I have a friend who is a clinical child psychologist and professor. Her
suggestion is to watch the video without the sound and see if you still think you
are seeing a calming reflex. We had discussed this when the book and video
first came out. I emailed her to ask if there was any research articles that
supported her ideas that this was not a bio-neurologically sound practice.
She has research articles to share, but she is out of her office until Monday,
so expect me to send them to the list when she provides them.
I am aware that this method has gained great favor with many and by
dissenting I am likely making people defensive. I did the same when Dr. Ferber
decided sleeping through the night was best taught with a cry it out method.
Unfortunately, I first tried it until my infant vomited from prolonged crying.
Everyone thought he hung the moon too...after all it works. Here we are how
many years later and finding that perhaps cry it out is not so great after all
and even Dr. Ferber himself is back pedaling on some of his theories. So,
from my own life experience I have learned that even it looks great and
everyone loves and it works so well there is always the chance that it is wrong. I
stand by my belief that swaddling hands to the side, jiggling a baby's head,
shhhshing louder than the baby's cry right into the ear, etc. are not
necessarily good even if they are what works.
Take care,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC, RLC
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