Dear Harvey and others:
I have not personally read or seen Dr. Karp's book and video but plan to
search them out.  What I do want to respond to in this discussion is the
benefit these comfort measures can give and also about the swaddling.
I totally agree with you Harvey, that the human baby needs human contact.
The holding, the swinging and sounds are very important.
What are my fears on the swaddling is based part on what I observe and how
people tend to take only part of your message to an extreme.
In the hospital babies are constantly swaddled with hands pulled down and a
tight wrap of the receiving blanket.  The babies are rolled into the room in
the crib and there they stay or the baby is picked up and held with the tight
wrap.  The message to the parents is this is the way the baby should be most
of the time especially if you want them to sleep.  The parents are always
surprised when I come in and unwrap the baby and tuck them skin-to-skin.
This is usually when I have been told the baby is too sleepy and won't wake
up to feed (DUH!).
Between what the parents see at the hospital and what you suggest in your
book on swaddling is that it will used too much and not just to calm.  A baby
should not be put to sleep this way for hours at a time.  They need their
hands near their face to wake themselves for feeding cues.
Babies sleeping patterns should be movement into deep and light sleep.
Babies, especially newborns use deep sleep to compensate and survive.  Not
all babies will cry and make a fuss to be feed and we all know in here on
LACTNET that crying is a late sign of hunger and not one we want parents to
use as a feeding cue.
If this method of swaddling is taught to the parents, what period of time are
they told to keep the baby this way?  Is it just until the baby settles and
then they should gently move their arms out of the swaddle?
As a last note, you said that the 5 S's replicate the baby in the uterus.  It
is a tight fit in the last months but the uterus does not restrict the hands
down to the sides of the baby.  Please look at ultrasounds, better yet feel a
woman's pregnant belly and the movement of the limbs.
Looking forward to the discussion.
Ann Perry RN, IBCLC
Boston, MA

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