Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Anyone who has seen inside a hospital's newborn nursery is probably familiar with the sight of rows of sleeping babies swaddled in clean blankets.
Swaddling is an age-old practice that has long been bound in controversy, falling in and out of style several times in the past century. But experts say it can offer benefits when done correctly.
Here are the current best practices around swaddling, according to health-care professionals and public health agencies.
Swaddling involves wrapping an infant securely in a light, breathable blanket to restrict their movement.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) say the practice can calm infants and help them sleep. Dr. Jessica Duby, neonatologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital, agrees.
"It sort of mimics how they were in the mother's belly," she said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca on Friday. "They feel a bit more contained, a bit more secure when their arms and legs are swaddled."
Swaddling can be safe and beneficial when done properly. However, when done improperly, it can pose a number of threats to infants.
According to the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), if a blanket used for swaddling becomes unwrapped, it can pose a face-covering risk and potentially raise the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
"Swaddling may also lead to overheating, depending on the type of blanket used," RNAO's clinical best practice guidelines for infants under 12 months reads.
There is also evidence that babies whose legs are swaddled too tightly may be at risk of developing hip dysplasia. According to the CPS, dysplasia is a developmental abnormality of the hip joint where the socket doesn’t fully cover the ball portion. Dysplasia can increase the risk for dislocation.
Duby said swaddling was once promoted as a way to prevent SIDS when, in fact, "there's no evidence that it helps." Further, RNAO warns swaddling can potentially increase the risk of SIDS if a swaddled infant is placed in the prone position – on their stomach – for sleep.
"Hence, caution regarding swaddling should be expressed with parents/caregivers," the organization's clinical best practices guidelines read.
Any answer to the question of whether or not parents should swaddle newborns is going to come with caveats. That's why some institutions have moved away from encouraging expectant parents to swaddle, according to Susan Georgoussis.
Georgoussis is a registered nurse and prenatal education co-ordinator at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. She said in situations where the nuances of how to swaddle safely might be lost, the simplest answer might be the safest.
"If you're in public health and you want to give directions to parents, you have to think about how many different kinds of parents and backgrounds and literacy levels you're dealing with," she said. "You want simple messages, so in some ways it's easier to say, 'Don't swaddle.'"
However, when the risks and best practices surrounding swaddling can be properly communicated and families' unique situations and challenges considered, she said the practice can be beneficial, in moderation.
"I don't see this as something that is a yes or no, I think parents need to know that," she said. "It shouldn't be their go to, but… some babies are colicky, some babies are hard to settle and it can be very helpful."
The benefits of proper swaddling are still recognized by PHAC, CPS and the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and all three agencies offer guidelines for doing it safely. Duby said it's still a common practice in many hospitals, and that it shouldn't contribute to the risk of SIDS when done properly.
"I think the big message is swaddling is not going to be the make-or-break for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome," Duby said. "The thing that has been shown to have the most impact on reducing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is putting the baby to sleep on their back."
According to PHAC and CPS, swaddled infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep, on bedding that isn't too soft, with their nose and mouth uncovered. As soon as a baby begins trying to roll over, around three to four months, parents should stop swaddling.
"The risk becomes that the baby will roll on to their belly and get stuck in that position and, unfortunately, suffocate and die," Duby said.
Because restricting leg movement can lead to an increased risk of hip dysplasia, parents and caretakers should make sure swaddled babies can still freely move their legs and hips. Swaddled babies can also overheat under too many layers, so parents and caretakers should use light blankets and avoid over-dressing. Duby said they should also stay away from weighted blankets.
"There's always new products popping up and one of the sort of cool new fads are these weighted swaddlers and those have been shown to also not be safe," she said. "And so a swaddle should just be done with a blanket."
When the time comes to stop swaddling, Duby said products like appropriately-sized sleep sacks can help ease the transition into regular sleepwear, as long as they're used properly.
"You have to just make sure that it's completely well fastened," she said, "So do every snap that comes with it, every zipper, don't leave anything loose and lying around."
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
Ontario will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032, the government projects — figures it tried to keep secret but were obtained by The Canadian Press.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Thousands have been forced to flee a wildfire burning near Fort Nelson. Meanwhile, some experienced volunteers are staying behind to fight the fire.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'