For tens of thousands of years, mothers living in cool climates have
swaddled their babies. While those in very hot climates hardly ever
swaddle, they do hold their infants in their arms or in slings almost
twenty-four hours a day. Parents all over
the globe wrap their infants
because:
It’s safe—Babies are less likely to suddenly wiggle out of their
parent’s arms.
It’s easy—Babies can be strapped on a parent’s back or slung
on their hips.
It’s calming—Babies get less upset because they can’t flail
about.
Great Swaddling Moments in History
History has recorded that Alexander the Great,
Julius Caesar,
and Jesus were all swaddled as babies.
In Tibet, babies have always been swaddled tightly in blankets.
Traditionally, the wrapping was secured with rope and the baby
was tied to the side of a yak to be carried as the family hiked
through the valleys.
On the high plains of Algeria, babies were swaddled to protect
them from drafts and evil spirits.
During
the Middle Ages, European parents kept their babies
immobilized in a tight, bulky swaddle for the first four to nine
months.
The American Academy of Pediatrics insignia features a
swaddled fifteenth-century Italian baby.
Many Native American tribes carried their papoose—young
baby—tightly packaged and slung onto their backs. (The 2000
U.S. one-dollar coin displays an
image of the Native American
guide Sacajawea with her tiny baby snugly bundled on her
back.)
These parents envelop their babies in blankets and then usually secure
the wrapping with strings and belts. And now, our nation has also
rediscovered that babies like being wrapped as snug as a bug in a rug. In
most U.S. hospitals, new moms are taught
how to swaddle their babies,
and I’ve even seen nurses use a little masking tape to keep the blanket
from opening.
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