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May 2011 Moms
yaelandhal
member
Hip dysplasia and swaddling
yaelandhal
member
Has anyone heard of the correlation between tight swaddling and hip dysplasia? I had no idea that there was a right and wrong way to wrap the baby and now it's possible that mine has developed HD. We're having a scan done this week but I am totally beating myself up. I googled this and plenty of articles and videos come up - wish I'd known this three months ago. Ugh.
I've been a member of this group for almost a year but haven't chimed in until now!
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Re: Hip dysplasia and swaddling
My son was born with hip dysplasia but has now outgrown it. We were told by the orthopedic (sp?) specialist that there was nothing that we could do to make it better or worse. He would either develop normally or not. He did also say that they were still investigating a correlation between tight swaddling and hip dysplasia as it does appear more frequently in certain cultures that have swaddled for many years (ie. aboriginal peoples). A bit of a contradiction even from the specialist. I do know that in many aboriginal communities babies are swaddled VERY tightly and for long periods of time (not just when asleep, but also in tikinagans). All that to say that I think the jury is still out on swaddling and hip dysplasia.
Easier said than done, but try not to beat yourself up about this. You swaddled for a reason -- to help your child sleep, reduce risk of SIDS. You did the best you knew how to do! That is really all we can do as mothers. I would start to wean LO from the swaddle to sleep now but don't panic. If he needs treatment HD is apparently very treatable when caught early. However, since they are still growing, they can often still develop normally.
Thank you so much for being the voice of reason. Yes, I did swaddle for exactly those reasons.
Last night I tried her in the Halo sleep sack, which didn't work out that well - she wound up traveling all the way across the crib and waking up with most of her body pressed against the crib bumper pad!
How did you wean your son from the swaddle? Did you just put him on his back and hope for the best?
We had been just swaddling the arms by doing only the inside layer on the escape-proof swaddle. Just a receiving blanket folded in thirds laid under his body and then around his arms and back under.
My babywearing educator friend says that wearing your baby with their legs out (in a carrier that supports across the bum and pushes the knees higher than the bum) is good for hip dysplasia. Maybe ask your doctor if that could help?
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I do have an Ergo baby, and a Moby Wrap, both of which put her knees above her bottom. It makes a lot of mechanical sense that this would help. Still, she seems to fuss the least in the Bjorn, which I know is the worst for her. She has some growing to do before the Ergo is comfortable, and the Moby is too hot right now.
My dad recalls that I had to wear a harness for a short while, he thinks he remembers that it was for hip dysplasia. So this could be purely genetic, even though baby didn't show any signs at birth or her first appointment (and they did look for it).
I am now swaddling her in an Aden & Anais muslin as instructed in a video I found on youtube by a hip dysplasia awareness group. She's asleep right now and I realize it wasn't necessary to swaddle her as firmly as I was before.
Ugh, I'm trying not to beat myself up. Thanks for your support. I know it will be fine, even if she does need to wear a device for a while.
Are you sure the Ergo won't work? I've had Owen in it since he was around 12 lb. It works great for us, with the legs out.
I'm sure it's just one of those things. It likely didn't have much to do with anything you did or didn't do.
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I'm going to give the Ergo another try tomorrow morning. She's fine in it with the infant insert, but I don't like the insert - it's too warm, it's bulky, and it's not a perfect fit in the Ergo Sport. She's nearing 12 pounds though so if it worked for your son at that point in his growth, it may work for Sarina.
At any rate -the good news is that there's no hip problem! My husband just called from the appointment. I guess I'll have to find something else to feel guilty about ;-)