The Practice of Swaddling

Swaddling a baby by wrapping it snugly in swaddling cloths to restrict movement has been practiced since around 4000 B.C. in Central Asia. Migrating people used back-pack cradle boards to carry babies, and thus started the practice of swaddling. As migration continued from generation to generation, swaddling became a permanent part of their lives. In Biblical times, a newborn baby was washed, rubbed with salt and oil, and then wrapped with strips of cloth. This kept the baby warm and was thought to ensure that the child's limbs would grow straight. By the late 15th century, babies were swaddled for the first 8 or 9 months of life. The baby was wrapped in linen bands from head to foot, with a stay band attached to the forehead and the shoulders to secure the head. This was thought to ensure the baby would grow up without physical deformity.

In the 17th century, opinion started to change regarding swaddling. More and more physicians and surgeons began to dispute the idea that wrapping a baby tightly in swaddling helped develop straight limbs. And because babies would be swaddled and then left for long periods without washing or comforting (particularly with wet nurses), it became associated with neglect. This sentiment grew, starting in England and then spreading later to Western Europe. By the end of the 18th century, more and more people in the Western world rejected swaddling. Many Eastern and tribal people, however, continued to use swaddling throughout this period.

Today, the practice of swaddling is coming back into favor. At birth, the sudden freedom of movement can be distressing to a baby. The thought behind modern swaddling is that it simulated the closeness of the womb. Since the early 1990s, medical studies have shown that placing a baby on its back to sleep reduces the risk of SIDS. A swaddled baby sleeps better on its back, so swaddling has been recommended more and more to new parents. Swaddling also prevents newborns from waking themselves with their startle reflex. Studies had described two main effect of swaddling babies: they are calmer with fewer movement and get more REM sleep. Swaddling a crying infant decreases blood pressure and pressure in the brain, both of which become elevated at the onset of distress. A distressed baby calms down and relaxes when swaddled. Colic is alleviated when a baby is swaddled and held upright on the shoulder so that food can be properly digested. Make note however that a swaddled baby should never be left to sleep on its stomach because of the restricted movement.

To be effective, a baby must remain snugly wrapped in the baby blanket while asleep. Modern swaddling is done in cotton receiving blankets, cotton muslin wraps, or specialized baby blanket swaddles. Loose or ineffective wrapping using a too small baby blanket can be kicked off by a restless baby. In these cases, the risk of SIDS increases as the baby blanket can cover the baby's face. There is also a danger when too heavy or multiple baby blankets are used to swaddle a baby. This can cause overheating in the baby and increases the risk of SIDS. By the time a baby is learning to roll over, parents should stop swaddling. When rolling, the baby needs the use of its hand and arms to adjust their head position.

There are several things that should be watched when swaddling a baby.
Tight swaddling can increase the risk of hip dysplasia.Tight swaddling can lead to life-threatening hyperthermia.One study showed a fourfold increase in developing respiratory infections in swaddled babies.One pediatrician found the flattening of the occipital aspect of the head in babies wrapped tightly and laid in traditional cradles.Swaddling can be linked with a prolonged recovery from weight loss after birth. This is thought to be caused by the fact that swaddling does not allow skin to skin contact between the mother and child. Skin to skin contact reduces the stress of being born and helps maintain the baby's body temperature.Swaddling can cause maternal behavior to be weaker because there in less interaction between the mother and the baby.

Swaddling is still practiced worldwide, but has more acceptance in some countries than others. It is still practiced more in non-industrialized cultures, but seems to be gaining some popularity in the U.S., Great Britain, and the Netherlands. As in all things, it is the parent's choice as to whether they swaddle a newborn. Most hospitals swaddle newborns, so if it seems to calm the baby, life will be much easier if the practice is continued when the baby goes home. There are many baby blankets available now to make swaddling easier, so make sure to find the baby blanket that works best for you.

Beth Moore is a quilter that turned her passion for baby quilts into a website - BabyQuiltComfort.com. Currently, the site offers a wide variety of baby quilts, crib sets, baby blankets, and baby gifts. In the future, hand made quilts will be featured on the site as well.

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Do Slimming Pills and Supplements Really Lead To Weight Loss?

We are now a nation of overweight people.

The terrible truth is that it has now become normal to be fat. In fact, more than half of us are now either clinically obese or very much overweight.

The epidemic of obesity that has swept through North America, the UK and Australia has brought with it a host of major health problems from diabetes to heart disease. Nowadays, being overweight and being sick has become the rule rather than the exception. It is now the norm.

Why are so many people now overweight?

Well, we don't need to be rocket scientists to understand that the reason is because we're consuming more calories than we burn. The fast paced, fast food lifestyle that so many of us are forced into fills our bodies with too much sugar, fat and salt.

Calorie-rich fast foods, convenience foods, snacks, candy bars and drinks laced with sugars and corn syrup all contribute to the pandemic of obesity that has now become the norm.

Rather than face this simple fact, many people prefer to bury their head in the sand(witches) and look for easy options that will enable them to continue with their old lifestyle yet magically reduce their weight.

Slimming supplements and slimming pills are now a multi-million dollar and multi-million pound industry full of hype and promises of an easy solution to being overweight.

What the manufacturers and purveyors of these products fail to advertise, of course, is that there is no real credible evidence that they work. In fact, everything seems to point to the fact that they make little or no difference when it comes to helping you reduce your weight, become slimmer or healthier.

Heavy marketing and advertising hype aside, these products simply do not have any reliable supporting clinical research to back up their amazing claims.

Despite this fact, people continue to buy these pills and potions in desperation, continuing to fuel the huge and ever-growing market for easy weight-loss products. What they refuse to accept is that while they are feeding the bank balance of manufacturers, they are simply wasting their own money.

We can lose weight naturally, without pills and supplements by becoming aware of what we eat and why we eat it in the way that we do.

Avoiding processed foods and sticking, as much as possible to whole foods, fresh fruit and vegetables can bring things back into balance. After all, when was the last time you saw someone get fat by eating too many carrots or apples?

Eliminating all simple sugars and eating complex carbohydrates, which help balance our blood sugar levels and stabilize our moods, can accelerate our weight reduction. In addition, we also need to avoid all hidden, saturated and trans fats.

It also helps, of course, if we engage in a regular program of exercise in order to burn off some of that stored energy that we call fat.

The real secret of weight loss lies not in gimmicky pills and supplements, but in altering our relationship with food. Hypnosis is an excellent way to achieve this.

Through the medium of hypnosis we can re-align the subconscious mind so that it works in harmony with our wishes, making healthy eating as natural as it was meant to be. And when we eat in the way that nature intended then we automatically reduce our weight, becoming slimmer, fitter and healthier.

Peter Field is a leading British hypno-psychotherapist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Health and creator of the revolutionary new 3 Step Hypnosis-Slimming System.

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The 4 Most Commonly Used Room Dividers and Their Uses

The best room divider is, of course, a wall. But let's face it; building a permanent wall isn't always feasible or affordable. Whether it's your home, school, church, business or office, room dividers can create new spaces, add just the right touch to décor, give privacy and reduce noise.

There are four room dividers that are most commonly used. In order to help you to know which may be the best option for your situation, I'll list them below and give some of the more appropriate uses for each divider:

1. Screens
Screens are extremely versatile and can be used both at home or in a business / public situation. Because screens are lightweight and free standing, they can be easily setup and taken down or moved around. Screens also are usually the most decorative of the room dividers.

Screens are best used for situations when you only temporarily need to divide a room or when decoration is important (like when used at home). Screens do not block sound well, so these are not the best option if you need divide a room for separate discussions or presentations. Also, because screens are lightweight, they should be used away from large crowds to prevent them from being knocked over.

2. Portable Panels
Similar to screens portable panels are able to be easily setup, taken down, and can have casters to make them easy to move around. However, portable panels are sturdier and block light and sound better than screens, thus providing more privacy.

Portable Panels are best used for situations when you need more privacy for groups, but the division of the room needs to change from time to time (thus making fixed dividers impractical). Portable panels are not decorative and don't usually work well in homes, but are sturdier than screens allowing them to be used around large groups without worrying about them being knocked over.

3. Fixed Folding / Sliding Panels
Fixed panels are sturdy, solid dividers that are mounted to a wall and possibly set in runners on the floor or ceiling. These room partitions are essentially portable walls providing full privacy.

Fixed folding/sliding panels are best for rooms which need to be divided in the same way each time. They are often used for dividing conference rooms, classrooms, or church halls. Because they can extend from floor to ceiling, they are great for dividing a room for separate discussions or presentations.

4. Office Partition Installations
There are a wide variety of office partitions available. People are most familiar with cubicles and reception partitions with counters, but the options extend well beyond that with different shapes, sizes, and materials. These dividers can be decorative, such as decorative glass, or utilitarian, such a corkboard.

Office partitions are best used when you don't want a full wall or you want the flexibility to change the layout of the partitions from time to time. They are not easily moved, but can be installed and uninstalled as needed. So, they are more permanent than portable panel, but less permanent than a wall.

There are many situations where you may want to have a larger room available, but be able to divide it as needed as well. Dividers give you flexibility to change the layout of a room when you need to.

Mary P. Sargeant is an author and the Marketing Communications Coordinator for Dallas Midwest. Dallas Midwest in an office furniture outlet offering a wide range of furniture solutions for offices, schools, churches, libraries and more carying everything from wood podiums, to conference tables, to fabric office chairs and everything in between.

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