September is Baby Safety Month : Are you Swaddling Safely?
September is Baby Safety Month and there are a few things about swaddling your baby that I would like to share with you.
Are you swaddling your baby safely?
There are two aspects to swaddling safely:
1) Avoiding suffocation and 2) Preventing Hip Dysplasia.
Hip Dysplasia is one of the most common conditions among newborn babies, affecting about 1% of North American newborns (about 75,000 per year). According to a recent survey conducted by HALO Innovations, 82% of parents choose to swaddle, and swaddling improperly can lead to Hip Dysplasia or dislocation. Treatment ranges from wearing a harness or brace to undergoing surgery.
These conditions can get worse with age and are linked to early adult arthritis and hip-replacement surgery.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging Pediatricians to watch for signs of hip dysplasia and dislocation and to warn parents not to extend their baby’s frog-like legs straight when swaddling. There’s a temptation to stretch the legs out and that needs to be resisted. They need to be able to straighten themselves out naturally and gradually. Parents should allow for room in the swaddle – or sleepsack – for baby to bend at the hips.
Dr. Charles Price, Director of the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, has recorded the following video about Hip Dysplasia and how to swaddle safely.
Dr. Tanya Altmann, Pediatrician and Mother, provides tips for swaddling safely in this video, specifically about avoiding suffocation.
Did you know that HALO SleepSack Swaddle blankets are the ONLY swaddle blanket on the market that is approved “hip healthy”?
Buy It:
You can find HALO Swaddle SleepSacks in cotton, fleece and an assortment of colors for $19.99 on Amazon.com
This post was not compensated and no product was received. This post was written by me and not edited by anyone else. Your opinion may vary from mine.
My niece would love this HALO Swaddle SleepSack for her first baby due in January. Thanks!
Awesome giveaway!
Thank you for the great giveaway – (emscout9 at Hotmail dot com)
I put the my facebook name in the twitter space….twitter name is @emscout9
From what I understand Halo has updated their sleepsacks, every one that I own does not have an eyelit on the zipper. I’m sorry to hear about what you experienced, thank you for sharing your story and protecting future children from getting hurt this same way :)
First of all, I would encourage you to see this video on the dangers of Halo SleepSacks put together by the Bay Area’s ABC 7 On Your Side – http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=8365100
Last year, I woke up to a god awful cry from my son. This was not a typical cry, but one of sheer panic. I came in to his room to discover the zipper of his Halo SleepSack wrapped around his tooth (look closely at the picture here and see the eyelet of the zipper on the sleepsack). I tried to disengage the zipper while trying to keep his head and feet together. He was 9 months old at the time and completely in a panic. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful and has to witness him kicking out his own tooth, root and all. It was a bloody, traumatic mess that will not soon be forgotten. I felt awful seeing my son subjected to that experience. The worst part is that I am now reminded every single day of that incident when I look at my son’s toothless smile. I have since discovered that other children have incurred the exact same trauma…ripping out their tooth on the zipper of a Halo SleepSack. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has also received other complaints from Halo SleepSack owners of zippers coming off and even disintegrating from children chewing on them. I proposed to Halo that they redesign the SleepSack so that there was a flap or cover over the zipper so that they could not engage with the zipper. This would probably only cost $0.05-$0.10 in the manufacturing process For some reason, management struck this down. Before you buy this for your child or as a gift for your friend, please know the facts.
What a great and informative giveaway. This would be a great gift for a new mom friend!
The RSS entry closed before I could put anything in the extra info box. I subscribe via reader with Google Reader as lewalk. Thanks.
My pregnant niece needs the swaddler.
What an awesome sleep sack!! I would love this.