Catherine FONTENEL
Childcare Assistant
Lactation and Perinatality
Consultant
fontenelcatherine@gmail.com
Swaddling is necessary to help the baby to self-soothe
This little being that has just been born only wants to adapt to this new world in complete safety. Parents often feel helpless when faced with a restless newborn during bathing, nursing and crying. Since birth, a child needs to form a secure bond with its parents in order to develop. Attachment is a baby's primary need. Interaction with parents is crucial. The feeling of helplessness disappears as soon as the proximity of the attachment figure is acquired. Depending on how a baby is cared for, he or she develops different adaptive strategies. They build up a secure attachment.
In the LILITITI soothing swaddle, the newborn regains the sensations it experienced during its last weeks of intra-uterine life, gathered and held, the newborn regains its foetal position. He relaxes, yawns and even falls asleep during the bath, just carried by the rocking of his parents, in fact every part of his body is covered with cloth. Only the head remains uncovered and the arm remains in place.
During the "wrapped bath" in the LILITITI swaddle, it can even be observed that the baby relaxes completely until he falls asleep, just carried by the rocking of his parents and the lapping of the water. Of course, the safety precautions should not be forgotten, as the baby's arm should be taken out of the swaddle to ensure that it is held in place (safety clip between the thumb and forefinger), as for the "soaping", it will be limited to the hair and the seat.
In conclusion, I would say that the right place for the newborn is in the continuity of his or her life in utero and that the wrapped bath brings hold, calmness and comfort to both the baby and the parents. It is a wonderful moment of sharing and tenderness to be repeated as often as possible.