Does Swaddling Decrease or Increase the Risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?

The report by Richardson et al in this issue of The Journal adds to their extensive past studies on arousal from sleep in infants.¹ This report on arousal in swaddled infants is an important addition to the literature. As the authors indicate, swaddling is becoming an increasingly common practice in the US. Historically, swaddling was for the most part a universal practice before the eighteenth century. The article is unique in that it reports on arousal to a tactile stimulus as opposed to spontaneous arousal.

SIDS, Sudden infant death syndrome