Why haven't I heard of a bath swaddle until now?

by Hummingbird Infant May 25, 2018

Why haven't I heard of a bath swaddle? If this type of care is new to you, you're not alone.

It wasn't until May of 2017 that a swaddle immersion program started getting press at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital Women’s Care Unit in Colorado. They were pioneers in bathing infants in the hospital provided swaddle to increase their standard of care.

Hummingbird Infant, coincidentally, was undergoing in home observations, research, and prototyping of a baby-soft neoprene bath swaddle product in 2017 as a solution to stressful infant baths. When we read that the real world issues we were solving (helping babies stay warmer longer and parents confidently enjoy bath time) were coming to light at the same time as the clinical adaptations getting press at the UCHealth Hospital, we couldn't have been more excited!

Best Practice: Swaddle immersion bathing.

best practice warm hug bath swaddle Who doesn't love a warm, cuddly bath? When you think of your own baths, and how uncomfortable it is when the water temperature is incorrect, you can empathize with newborns who came from a perfect warm, womb environment. It's no surprise then, that UC Poudre Valley Health reports that 93% of babies show signs of stress and cry during a sponge bath. Edna Sailer knew that they needed to update practices, so here, swaddle immersion bathing is a “new, best practice.” Why? Remember that 93 percent who cried during a sponge bath? Swaddle immersion bathing brought that number down to 38 percent.

Why the protocol?

“Most of the time with a (traditional) sponge bath, the baby will cry, and you see the parents turn away,” said PVH Women’s Care Unit RN Edna Sailer, who spearheaded a new swaddle immersion bath protocol for a healthy term newborn. “It can be a bit dramatic for both parent and baby.” That’s why the new protocol of swaddle immersion bathing was instituted.

Image result for swaddle immersion bath edna sailer

Having the Warm Hug Bath Swaddle and Warm Heart Bath Bib as patent-pending solutions in mid-2018 for something that hospitals are also beginning to offer as the highest standard of care, was icing on the cake to what parents already told us is a great idea. Hummingbird Infant hopes to be in hospitals some day, too. But in the mean time you can always find us at www.hummingbirdinfant.com

Sarah is a birth mom, adoptive mom, wife, working mom and optimist. She is the founder of Hummingbird Infant where warm, loving, calm baths are made into a reality. Sign up for our free confidence-boosting weekly Baby Buzz email for insights to help you in your parenting journey in all facets of the first years of parenting.