Proper Swaddling Technique

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Proper swaddling technique February 15, 2011 In the matter of a very short time, a newborn finds themself thrust from the comfort of a mother’s womb to a frightening foreign world. Swaddling is a technique that has been used for many years providing security and comfort while maintaining the newborn’s temperature within an appropriate range. On Tuesday February 15, 2011, I was assigned a patient who I will refer to as “C.M.” and while providing care for her during my clinical shift, I learned that she lacked knowledge relating to correct swaddling technique. C.M. is a 25 year old African American who previously earned a Bachelor’s in Business and currently employed by the corporate office of Gap. She was G1P1 with no significant medical history and denied any knowledge of family medical history. She understood that swaddling a newborn helps regulate the body temperature but had deficient knowledge in the proper technique. This was evidenced by observing the mother finishing breast feeding, placing only a small blanket overtop the newborn before putting her in the bedside crib. Upon assessing her baseline knowledge, I asked her what she knew about the importance of newborn thermoregulation. She explained that newborns had little control over their body temperature while trying to adjust to their environment and required help maintaining their own temperatures. She went on to describe that swaddling provided security and prevented excessive heat loss but did admit that she wasn’t sure how to do so because this was her first baby and had little experience swaddling. I was confident that she could effectively complete this task, as she showed strong compliance with the appropriate number of prenatal visits leading up to her delivery and asked appropriate questions regarding herself and the newborn throughout my shift. She had all senses intact and no

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