Wide swaddling will save you from dysplasia: learning to swaddle correctly. Wide swaddling for hip dysplasia

February 23

Pathology of the development of the hip joint will help wide swaddling with dysplasia. Used in the treatment and prevention of the development of the disease in children 6-12 months old. Equipment for such therapy can be purchased at pharmacies or in specialized stores, or you can sew it yourself. Covers, fabric diapers, as well as a special Frejka pillow for wide swaddling in order to get rid of dysplasia are popular. The duration of the course and the mode of wearing is determined exclusively by the doctor.

Types and methods of swaddling

Wrapping a newborn in a diaper is a long tradition around which a lot of talk is turned. Doctors do not agree on the benefits of this procedure for the baby. Some pediatricians claim that leaving the child freedom of movement, parents provoke a malfunction in the work of tactile perception zones, cause stress and sleep problems. Below is a table describing the main swaddling methods:

ViewBaby's conditionmaterialsPeculiarities
naturalThe child is not constrained in actionsThe diaper is not used, but panties, diapers, sliders are put onThe practice of using a homemade diaper from a diaper
freeOnly the baby's legs are wrappedDiaper, blouseCovers the tummy and lower back
tightComplete immobilizationDiaperThis method is not recommended by pediatricians, as it negatively affects the child's psyche and disrupts normal blood circulation.
wideThey are fixed in the position of divorced legs, the angle of flexion is naturalDiaper, diaper pantiesMaybe full immersion just like legs

Wide swaddling is applicable to get rid of developmental pathologies hip joints, correction and treatment. With its help, dysplasia is treated at any stage.

The benefits of wide swaddling


With this method, the joint can be avoided from popping out of the acetabulum.

The technique has already topped the list of useful and therapeutic procedures, especially for problems with the joints of the pelvis and hip. It helps to cure a congenital defect that occurs in every 5th child. Such therapy is more effective for children under 1 year old. Proper fixation in a wide swaddling of the head of the joint allows it to develop correctly, taking a natural position. At the same time, muscle ligaments gradually grow and strengthen, which prevent the joint from popping out or moving. In addition, muscle tone decreases, and in boys, the process of getting rid of dropsy of the testicles is accelerated. Such swaddling of healthy children prevents the occurrence of ailments associated with the functioning of the skeleton and joints.

What is needed to complete?

To swaddle your baby properly wide way, you will need:

  • case;
  • cloth diapers;
  • Freyka pillow.

In the advanced stage of dysplasia, the doctor prescribes special orthopedic swaddling equipment. The choice depends on the method and type of "wrapping" the baby in a diaper. The main thing - when swaddling itself, make sure that the baby is on a flat surface, without any humps, folds and other uncomfortable bulges. Swaddling materials must be exclusively natural ingredients, hypoallergenic, absolutely clean and ironed on all sides. It is also important to ensure normal heat transfer without overdoing it with warming in terry sliders.

Wide swaddling bag


Mothers-needlewomen can sew a cover for such swaddling on their own.

It is purchased in special stores or on Internet sites. Needleworkers with minimal skills to work with sewing machine able to sew it by yourself. This cover is an elongated rectangle. Ribbons are sewn to the waist to make it more convenient to fix the product on the child. It has no other devices in the design.

Cloth diapers

The so-called grandfather's method of wrapping a baby. For sewing such panties with wide swaddling, they take cotton fabric and wool. To fix them on the baby's waist, they have buttons, buttons, ribbons or Velcro on the sides. What is more convenient is chosen by each parent individually. They are easy to wash and can be safely worn with a diaper. There are several sizes of diapers, which depend on the distance of one popliteal hollow to another, in the expanded position of the toad. They are found on sale in pharmacies, children's stores and Internet sites.

Frejka pillow

This is a kind of orthopedic tire, which is designed for. Nothing like a standard sleeping pillow. The main part, made of polyurethane, fixes the lower limbs in the desired position. 2 ribbons are attached to it so that the Frejka pillow stays on the baby and does not fall off. Self-appointment is unacceptable, wear only on the recommendation of an orthopedist.

How many hours per day to swaddle?


For preventive purposes, the child is swaddled daily for three hours.

The course of treatment with a wide swaddling is set individually by a pediatrician or orthopedist. For this, the clinical picture of the baby and the stage of development of dysplasia are studied. For prevention, it is important to wear 3 hours / day every day for 60 days. The cover is worn longer - up to 12 hours a day. The line of wearing the Freyka pillow is determined solely by the orthopedist, who establishes the diagnosis for the patient. With subluxation, the duration is 12-20 hours a day.

An alternative to wide swaddling for dysplasia

For the treatment of dysplasia, a special diaper is used, which is fixed on the shoulders of the child, and is also installed between the lower extremities. For the manufacture, a flannelette fabric is used, stitched in the shape of a rectangle of the desired size. To improve the aesthetic appearance, special cases are also sewn, choosing a fabric of various colors and textures. For fixing, I sew on one side of the narrow edge of the strap, on the other - buttons.

Hip dysplasia - frequent illness, which is observed among newborns and infants. The disease consists in the incorrect formation of parts of the hip joint and applies to all elements: the acetabulum, head femur with all muscles, ligaments and capsule, is characterized by their abnormal development. Violation of the formation of the musculoskeletal system is quite rare - from 5 to 40 cases are recorded for every thousand children, while girls are 5 times more susceptible to this disease than boys, and children who were in breech presentation receive such a diagnosis ten times more often. The stages of dysplasia are as follows: pre-luxation, subluxation and dislocation of the hip.

Dysplasia is a violation of the formation of the musculoskeletal system, most often affecting the hip joints

Diagnosis - dysplasia, what does it mean?

The main time for the appearance of hip dysplasia is the last trimester of pregnancy. This disease develops under the influence of adverse factors. Of the main reasons, the most significant are the following: oligohydramnios, which means the close location of the fetus in the tummy, big weight fetus, which is typical for firstborns, and the gluteal location of the baby in the womb.

The hereditary factor should not be overlooked: if there were cases of dysplasia or coxarthrosis in the family. Studies show that children with dislocation and subluxation of the hip are more likely to be born in families where close relatives (mothers, fathers, sisters or brothers) have had cases of orthopedic pathology: curvature of the spine, flat feet or frequent sprains. Hereditary testing provides information that the ligaments and muscles of the child are very poorly developed.


Most often, dysplasia occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy, if there are certain deviations from the norm: large fetal weight, breech presentation in the womb

Wide swaddling alternative

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Create for baby feet right conditions It is possible not only with the help of swaddling. The basis for one of these devices is a diaper that is laid between the legs, only it should be fixed not on the hips, but on the shoulders. This method of fastening guarantees the reliability of fixation and makes it impossible for the child to change the angle of the legs. Step by step technique making a swaddling device:

  1. We fold the flannelette diaper into a rectangle with sides of 20 and 40-50 cm. The edges of the rectangle must be quilted at intervals of 2-3 cm. loops or holes for buttons should be made. Given the growth of the baby, you will alter the buttons or make new cuts in the straps.
  2. Making a beautiful diaper case is also quite easy. For work, you should choose a light plain cotton fabric, this choice is due harmonious combination with baby clothes. This device fixes the diaper between the legs of the child, securing it with the help of buttons on top and two paired ties on the sides.

It is very convenient to use such devices for swaddling. Cases are fixed directly on top of diapers and clothes.


Wide swaddling allows you to fix the baby's legs in the required position, but does not restrict his movements. You can buy a ready-made wide swaddling kit or sew it yourself.

Why do you need a wide swaddling?

Wide swaddling will be appropriate for use by parents whose children are only suspected of having this pathology. When the examination is completed and the presence of a disease of the hip joint is revealed, the use of wide swaddling becomes simply necessary. This method of fixing children's legs helps bring the baby closer to his natural position, where the hips are slightly apart and the legs are half bent. healthy babies take a similar position on their own when turning over on their backs.

The method of wide swaddling allows the joints of the hip and pelvis to develop correctly, almost completely eliminates the occurrence of dislocation and subluxation of the hip.

A mild form of dysplasia, identified on early stage, involves a wide swaddling in the form of a medical procedure. Swaddling is recommended from the first days of life up to 6 months.

Correct positioning of the femoral head in relation to the acetabulum the main task wide swaddling. With the help of such a simple remedy you can avoid the abnormal development of the joints of the hip and pelvis, their fatal changes.

Wide swaddling - treatment of dysplasia in the early stages

Wide swaddling with dysplasia is possible with the help of special panties, but a regular diaper is also quite suitable. Some parents use preventive pants.

  • Lay a thin diaper on the changing table with the long side horizontal. Fold the thicker diaper (baize) diagonally and place it on top of the thin one. Thus, you should get a triangle on top of the rectangle. The triangle with sharp ends looks to the sides, and the straight end looks down.
  • Put the baby in a disposable diaper and place it over the diapers (see also:). Help the baby to adopt a natural posture: the legs are slightly bent at the knees, and the angle between the thigh and the body is 80-90 °. The kid can take this position on his own.
  • One lateral end of the diaper should be wrapped around one thigh, then do the same procedure with the second thigh, fixing it sequentially from all sides.
  • The lower right corner of the diaper should be thrown up to the navel.
  • Take another, this time a thick diaper and fold it several times. The widest part of the diaper should be about 20 cm. Lay it folded between the legs. You should wrap the edges of the diaper around the tummy to securely fix it. The unused bottom edge of the diaper should be straightened and folded up to the level of the armpits and the loose ends should be fixed at the top.

Natural posture is a necessary condition for recovery

The angle at which the baby's legs should be fixed is 90 °. There are other types of wide swaddling, their main task is to give the most natural position for the child at the moment when he is without clothes. This pose is as follows: the legs are bent at the knees and divorced at a right angle.

You can learn more about other ways of fixing the legs yourself by choosing a video or photo lesson to study. This position of the child's legs contributes to proper formation hip joint. Wide swaddling does not cause inconvenience to the baby, he quickly gets used to it. comfortable posture, and when changing the diaper, it begins to hold the legs in this position on its own.

Other possible ways of swaddling each mother can learn on their own. For learning, you can always use the video lessons:

Early prevention is the best treatment

More severe forms of dysplasia - dislocation and subluxation - require more serious treatment measures and one wide swaddling may no longer be enough. The first days of life are decisive, as the femoral head can take wrong position and get into a hole. Simple, but useful procedures with additional swaddling, of course, can burden the life of mother and child, but all these are temporary difficulties.

If doctors notice something is wrong only by the year when the child is already starting to walk independently, it may be necessary surgery to correct a dislocation, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee a 100% result. The main task of the mother is to ensure that the baby's legs are in the right position most of the time.

Summing up, I would like to advise those mothers whose babies have a tendency to develop pathology to use wide swaddling regularly from the first days of life. The effectiveness of the treatment of dysplasia will be maximum if you start acting at the very beginning of the disease. Timely started medical assistance gives you a better chance of success.

It is important to decide why you need a wide swaddling baby. IN early age It is used for prophylactic purposes, as well as for the treatment of hip dysplasia. For healthy babies, this type of swaddling serves as an adaptation in the new world.

Wide swaddling of a newborn

Wide swaddling and loose swaddling are not the same. These techniques are often indistinguishable. What are the features of wide swaddling?

  • Using the technique of wide swaddling, the body is not completely wrapped, but exclusively below the waist.
  • The legs must be fixed in a position that is comfortable for the baby - bend, then slightly spread apart. This posture is observed in children when they are undressed.
  • The use of improvised means (roller, pillow), fixing the legs.

At free swaddling these funds do not apply.

Wide swaddling newborn video:

Wide swaddling of children comes down to wrapping the baby's legs in a natural position. This type of swaddling is practiced from the very birth of the child.

The advantages of the wide swaddling technique cover aspects:

  • Ease of use. With this diagnosis, only a specialized health worker has the right to treat with massage (not restorative) and all kinds of techniques.
  • In early infancy, wide swaddling is used or a sling is used. Late infancy- rigid structures (Pavlik's stirrups or Freik's pillow).
  • Probability of not resorting to the operational method. It is used in the absence positive effect. The consequences of operations and rehabilitation can be dangerous.

In case of problems in orthopedics, changes in tone and for physioprophylaxis, it is recommended to use wide swaddling.

How to do wide swaddling?

Consider 3 wide swaddling techniques: with one, two, three diapers, as well as swaddling on a diaper. Each method can be used for the prevention, treatment of diaper rash, dysplasia and other ailments.

Technique with one diaper

This method is for calm children, or it can be used during sleep.

Prepare a diaper for wide swaddling:

  • Spread a rectangular diaper on a hard surface and fold it in 2 times.
  • One pocket of the diaper needs to be opened, we get a triangle.
  • We prepare the middle part for the fold and fold it into a rectangle.

A diaper is the very first thing that a child receives in the hospital. And wrapping in it for a long time considered almost the only possible way existence, accessible to the baby on initial stage life. Modern moms quite wary of this process, believing that it is not necessary to hamper the movements of the baby. Many liberal-minded doctors also agree with them, arguing in their defense that the position that the child occupies in own will, the most physiological and convenient for him. However, there are times when swaddling is necessary. medical procedure, which can significantly alleviate or reverse the course of the disease in crumbs. Then the use of wide swaddling techniques is recommended.

What is the wide swaddling procedure?

Wide swaddling is very often confused with free swaddling, when little space is left for movements, and the diaper is not tightened. However, there are cardinal differences between the first method and the latter.

Firstly, with wide swaddling, only Bottom part torso. Secondly, the child's legs should take a clear physiologically correct position: bent in knee joints and separated at an angle of 60-80 degrees. Thirdly, in order to fix this position of the limbs, a special pad or roller is placed between them. With free swaddling, such attributes are not necessary.

To help mom now in stores can be found big variety special holders and fixtures. For example, a pillow is a Frejka tire (it is a bandage that is worn on a child and fastened with straps on the shoulders), a cover, panties (or panties) for wide swaddling.

Pillow - tire Freyka on the baby

Benefits (including for hip dyslasia)

One of the main diagnoses, in which wide swaddling is shown, is hip dysplasia (congenital pathology of the musculoskeletal system or underdevelopment of any component of the joint, abbreviated as "DTS"). The disease is quite common among infants: on average, out of 1000 newborns, 2-3% percent are born with this disease.

Scientists have identified some patterns that are characteristic of DTS. So, among representatives of the African American race, this pathology is less common than in the European population of the planet. The most dysplastic race is the American Indians. At the same time, girls are diagnosed with it in 80% of all cases, boys get sick 5 times less often. In children born in breech presentation (legs forward), joint pathology is 10 times more common.

However, it should be understood that DTS is a common name for a number of diseases. And, as a rule, the following ailments are treated with wide swaddling:


It is important for each parent to know that the identified pathology, without taking proper measures, can lead to difficult development of the musculoskeletal system (the child begins to walk later), gait disturbance (“duck gait”), subsequent pain when walking and even curvature of the spine.

Photo gallery of devices for the treatment of dysplasia

DTS is treated different ways: surgical, orthopedic, physiotherapy, massage.

Wide swaddling refers to the orthopedic method and has many advantages:

  • Ease of execution. Only a specialist can do massage (should be distinguished from a restorative option) and perform other medical procedures with this diagnosis. In other words, parents will not be able to repeat these manipulations at home.
  • The use of rigid structures (Freik's pillow, Pavlik's stirrups) is only possible during late infancy. In the first months, a safer and more gentle (but no less effective) method is a wide swaddling or sling.
  • The possibility of avoiding surgical intervention, since it is used only in cases where other methods are ineffective or the desired effect is not achieved. severe consequences not only the operation itself, but also the postoperative period of the baby can turn around. Not to mention further rehabilitation.

Also, wide swaddling will be useful as a preventive measure. correct operation hip joints, disorders muscle tone and associated problems in orthopedics.

Step by step instructions

There are a few general rules that must be observed.

  1. Before swaddling, make sure that the baby is lying on a flat surface and that there is nothing under the back that causes discomfort. Changing tables or mattresses are usually used, but if those are not available, then your bed will help to cope with the matter just as well.
  2. Diapers are best used from natural fabrics so that the baby's skin can breathe. Before swaddling, they need to be ironed.
  3. Very important temperature regime. So that the child does not overheat, put on sliders and socks under the diaper, based on the situation: going for a walk - warm, put to bed at home - light. And also pay attention to whether you will carry the baby in your arms or not. Since your warmth is transferred to him, the baby may become hot and become restless.

If everything is checked, then proceed to a wide swaddling by choosing one of the methods.

Swaddling with three diapers

Swaddling pattern with three diapers

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Take three diapers different size. The first is 80x120 cm, the second is 80x90 cm, the third is arbitrary (it will be used as a roller).
  2. The first diaper should be completely spread over the entire perimeter with a rectangle, and the smaller sides should be on the right and left, respectively. Fold the second in a triangle and throw over the first.
  3. Place the child on top of the prepared one, so that the corner of the triangle is visible between the legs, and the base is just below the chest.
  4. Take the third diaper and fold it into a rectangle with a width of 15-20 cm. Then place it between the baby's legs and secure with the second diaper. Thread it in the same place and wrap the side corners around the child.
  5. With the remaining diaper, wrap the child on top, but before that, fix the legs by pushing them to the sides at an angle of 90 degrees.

Tip: You can use a ready-made homemade diaper as a second diaper if you practice using them. But in this case, the third diaper will need to be taken smaller or fold it in a smaller number of times.

Video: how to make a diaper from a diaper

Technique with one diaper

  1. Take a rectangular diaper.
  2. Fold diagonally to form a triangle.
  3. Wrap the left leg of the child with the left corner, and the right leg with the right corner.
  4. Between the legs, fixing their position at an angle of 90 degrees, pass the bottom corner. On top of the resulting homemade diaper, you can still swaddle in a free way, if necessary.

Tip: This option is good if the baby is sleeping or generally calm, as it will be very easy to undress. But you can use tape to prevent unraveling.

Technique with two diapers as a reusable diaper

Video: two diaper techniques

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Take 2 diapers: 80x120 cm and any size.
  2. Fold the smaller one into a rectangle and place it between the legs.
  3. Next, wrap the diaper on which the baby lies on both sides.
  4. Release the legs and between them (pre-tightening them at the right angle) draw the end of the diaper like panties.
  5. Tie the end around the waist.

Using a reusable diaper

  1. Take a sheet and spread it out in a rectangle.
  2. Dress your baby in a reusable diaper.
  3. Then swaddle with a diaper, fixing the legs at an angle of 90 degrees.

IN this case the diaper will perform the functions of two diapers at once (the second and third diaper roller). However, the presented method is suitable mainly only for mothers who accept the use of reusable hygiene products.

When carrying out swaddling, many nuances should be taken into account.

  • Newborn toilet. Some parents resort to the help of disposable diapers, others - reusable ones.
  • Regardless of the preferences of the mother and child, you should always remember that the diaper should not be tightly tightened, since, together with a tightly tied diaper, they can transfer the baby's skin and impair blood circulation to important organs. This will bring not only discomfort, but also lead to more serious consequences.
  • The baby's skin should be well treated with places of contact with the diaper. So that the diaper does not provide additional friction in areas of redness.
  • If you are using a gauze diaper, then to prevent it from moving, put a soft diaper folded in a rectangle.
  • Doctors do not recommend that the child be in disposable diaper over 6 hours. Keep this in mind if you are going to wrap your baby at night or consider swaddling the best option than wearing clothes in the first months of a baby's life.
  • Always strictly observe the temperature regime. Since thermoregulation has not yet been properly established, overheating of the genital area is highly undesirable.

Photo gallery: swaddling a diaper

Third stage Second phase First stage

Video: swaddling a baby with a gauze diaper

Wide swaddling is physiological and there are much more pluses in it than minuses. Therefore, this method is universally recommended for all parents as a prevention of various diseases. For those whose children it is indicated for the treatment of hip dysplasia, it will not be difficult to choose a more convenient method for themselves and evaluate its therapeutic effect, while delivering the least harm to the baby.

The techniques presented in the article are easy to perform. But if you doubt the correctness of your actions, then it is better to consult with your pediatrician.

If you plan to use wide swaddling (or any other method) as a preventive measures, then always consider the emotional and mental attitude child. If you notice that your child is expressing anxiety or getting nervous, it is better to stop similar practice. The main thing is the comfort of the baby.

Hip dysplasia is a malformation of all or part of the elements of the hip joint: the acetabulum, the femoral head with the surrounding muscles, ligaments, capsule, which consists in the underdevelopment of their tissues. This congenital pathology of the musculoskeletal system is detected in newborns and children. infancy(according to various sources, it is present in 5-40 cases out of 1000). In girls, it occurs 5 times more often than in boys, and 10 times more often observed in children born in the breech presentation. Unilateral underdevelopment of the hip joint is observed 7 times more often than bilateral. According to the degree of severity, there are pre-dislocation, subluxation, dislocation of the hip (the most severe degree of dysplasia).

What is hip dysplasia?

So, what is the normal hip joint? Its main elements are the spherical femoral head and the semicircular acetabulum, covering the head from all sides. They are united by an elastic, durable joint capsule, which, when moving in the joint, does not allow the femoral head to go beyond the cavity. The joint capsule is assisted in this by a powerful ligament of the femoral head, which connects the centers of the main elements of the joint.

In an underdeveloped joint, the process of ossification of the femoral head can be slowed down. The joint capsule, especially in the back and upper part, may still be too thin, and the acetabulum may not reach right size. Sometimes the shape of the acetabulum is flat, figuratively resembling a saucer, not a cup. Often the ligaments of the hip joint, including the ligaments of the head of the femur, are excessively relaxed. When moving, the femoral head begins to move towards the underdeveloped area of ​​the cavity and, without encountering sufficient resistance, eventually jumps out of it. This causes the nearby muscles to stretch, increases the mutual pressure of the cartilaginous articular surfaces on each other, which impairs blood and lymph circulation, slows down metabolic processes, and hence the growth of the joint.

Over time, cartilage is destroyed, inflammation of the hip joint (or both joints) appears - dysplastic coxarthrosis. Movements in this disease are limited, they are accompanied by pain, lameness appears, fast fatiguability when walking, gait changes, etc.

Why does such a pathology occur? The formation of hip dysplasia occurs in recent months intrauterine life under the influence of unfavorable factors. From external factors should indicate the close position of the fetus in the uterus, which happens with oligohydramnios, large fruit(more often in primiparas) and with breech presentation. Hereditary predisposition is also of some importance: the presence in the family of patients with congenital dislocation of the hip, coxarthrosis. When examining families in which children with congenital hip dislocation are born, orthopedic pathology is revealed in the parents, brothers and sisters of the baby: excessive mobility in the joints of the upper and lower extremities, curvature of the spine, frequent sprains of the ankle joint, flattening of the arches of the feet. All this indicates the inheritance of weakness of the ligamentous-muscular apparatus.

It is possible to fix the baby's legs not only with the help of swaddling. You can make simple devices yourself, which in the future will help you save time and effort when dressing your child every day. They will be based on fixing the diaper laid between the legs not on the hips (as when swaddling), but on the shoulders. Such a fixation will not allow the diaper to slide down, and the baby, respectively, will bring the legs together and change the angle of their breeding.

Both of these devices are worn on sliders or overalls.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of hip dysplasia helps to examine the newborn by a doctor in the hospital. The doctor determines how well the baby's legs are bred in the supine position on a flat surface when they are bent at the knee and hip joints. Normally, the legs are bred by 180 °, i.e. actually lay on the surface.

At the slightest suspicion of congenital pathology joints of the child are referred to an orthopedist, where a more accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease is carried out. Currently, ultrasound of the hip joints is the most reliable and safest method for diagnosing the pathology of the hip joint in newborns and children under 1 year of age and allows you to assess the structure of not only the bone structures of the hip joint, but also the cartilaginous and soft tissue components of the joint. Ultrasound has a minimal radiation exposure and, unlike the X-ray method, allows it to be used for newborns and infants twice a month.

Scheduled examinations of infants by an orthopedist should be carried out at the age of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months. and 1 year, with obligatory ultrasound of the hip joints for all healthy children once, and in case of dysplasia - ultrasound and X-ray control in the dynamics of treatment.

Mom herself can suspect a pathology of the hip joints in her baby:

  • by limiting the abduction of the hip on the side of the lesion, which increases over time;
  • by the asymmetry of the gluteal folds (in the prone position, the gluteal-femoral and popliteal folds during dislocation and subluxation are located higher than on a healthy leg, sometimes an additional fold appears on the thigh);
  • on the shortening of the lower limb on the side of the lesion (although it is uncharacteristic for the first 2 months of a child's life and may be absent with bilateral dislocation) and external rotation (rotation) of the lower limb, especially during sleep.

In addition, when bending the legs in the knee and hip joints, an extraneous sound (click) can be heard, which normally should not be. All this should force the mother to show the baby to the orthopedist.

But there are cases of asymptomatic (“silent”) course of dysplasia, when even an experienced doctor cannot suspect the disease, based solely on external manifestations. It should also be noted that the symptoms of dysplasia are often vague, since at the initial stages the child almost does not respond to the presence of a dislocation.

Why do you need a wide swaddling?

Regardless of whether there is a suspicion of this pathology or you have already examined the child for the presence of the disease (and if it is confirmed, then even more so), you need to get acquainted with wide swaddling, in which the child maintains a natural position for him with slightly bent and retracted hips. This position is usually assumed by the newborn on its own when it is unfolded. Wide swaddling contributes to the normal formation of the hip joint and prevents the development of subluxation or dislocation of the hip. It is used as a treatment procedure for early detection of mild dysplasia from the first days and sometimes up to 5-6 months of age. Its main therapeutic task is to establish the correct ratio of the femoral head and the acetabulum as early as possible in order to prevent irreparable changes in the joint. For wide swaddling, special panties were invented, but it is quite possible to get by with ordinary diapers. Spread on the changing table light length diaper, put another large diaper on top, folding it diagonally in the form of a triangle (acute corners are directed to the sides, and straight - downwards). Put the baby in a disposable diaper on the diaper, bend his legs at the knee and hip joints and take him to 80-90 ° (perhaps the child himself will take a similar position). With the side ends of the diaper, alternately wrap one and then the other thigh (side, front, inside, back), and throw its lower corner up to the level of the navel. Lay another flannelette diaper between the legs, folded several times in length, 20 cm wide. Next, wrap one edge of the light diaper around the stomach, then the other so that the laid wide diaper is well fixed. The lower, free edge is straightened, freely folded up to the armpits, and fixed by fastening the free ends of the diaper to the upper edge. The child's legs should be fixed in relation to the body at an angle of 90 °. There are other ways of wide swaddling, but in any case, the principle is important: the legs should be spread out and half-bent at the knees, that is, the child in diapers should lie as he usually lies undressed. This posture creates the most favorable conditions for the development of the hip joint. The child quickly gets used to a wide swaddling, tolerates it well and, when swaddling, independently holds the legs in the desired position.

Often one wide swaddling is enough to treat dislocation and subluxation of the hip, because. in the first hours and days of a child's life, the femoral head is easily set into the cavity. Of course, such a procedure imposes some restrictions on the lifestyle of mother and baby, but all difficulties are easy to overcome. So in an easy way it is possible to avoid the serious injury that occurs when the diagnosis is made too late, especially if the child has already begun to walk and the femoral head is truly dislocated. At this stage, serious medical measures and surgical intervention are already needed for a cure, and the percentage of favorable outcomes decreases.

In conclusion, I would like to note that if the baby has a risk of developing pathology or if for some reason you cannot consult an orthopedist and perform an ultrasound of the hip joints in the first month of life, then it is better to start swaddling the baby widely from the first days of life. The success of treatment for hip dysplasia depends on the timing of the start of treatment: the earlier the disease is diagnosed and treatment is started, the greater the chance of a successful outcome.