Swaddling a baby may increase the risk for sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, a new analysis concludes. The practice of swaddling — wrapping an infant with a light cloth, with the head exposed — has grown in the United States with reports that it promotes better sleep. Researchers pooled data from four observational studies of SIDS and swaddling that included 760 SIDS cases and 1,759 controls. Overall, swaddling increased the risk of SIDS by about one-third.
The risk was greatest in babies sleeping on their stomachs, less in those sleeping on their sides, and least in infants sleeping on their backs. The study is in Pediatrics. The lead author, a research associate at the University of Bristol in England, said that the results should be interpreted with caution, because there are few studies of the subject, and the amount of good evidence is limited. Still, she said, “We already…
