Mummy Buzz

Dec
03
2015

Can You Calm a Crying Baby With This Simple Hold?

Shake his little booty

How to Calm Your Crying Baby | YummyMummyClub.ca

A California-based pediatrician is being dubbed 'The Baby Whisperer' after releasing a video of him quieting infants with a simple hold.  

In practice for about 30 years, it's safe to assume that Dr. Bob Hamilton has learned a thing or two about soothing babies in his day.

For some reason, he he has only now decided to share his hard-earned wisdom with the world courtesy of a YouTube video that is fast gaining momentum on social media.

In the short video, Dr. Hamilton concisely describes and performs his technique on various crying infants in his medical office. And it seems to work like a dream.

Watch and learn. Then, if you're anything like me, sit down and heave a great despondent sigh that Dr. Hamilton's advice wasn't available when you had a little wailer of your own.



To recap: 

  1. Fold the arms across the chest
  2. Secure the arms after folded
  3. Gently grab diaper area with dominant hand
  4. At 45-degree angle, gently rock baby up and down

As the Dr. Hamilton himself oints out, The Hold has limitations: it's only recommended for babies under two to three months old, and obviously won't cut it if your infant is sick or hungry.

And even then, so-called 'faciliated tucking' is not a magical solution, cautions clinical psychologist and professor of pediatrics at Dalhousie University, Christine Chambers. The Hold may only work for a brief time before parents must resort to other proven strategies to relieve a crying infant. 

"There is some evidence that facilitated tucking is effective to reduce pain and distress in babies undergoing painful procedures, but it is not as effective as breastfeeding, skin-to-skin, and sucrose, all of which are proven pain control strategies for babies," said Chambers, who partnered with YMC for the #ItDoesntHaveToHurt social media campaign.

It goes without saying, before you try The Hold at home be extremely careful not to drop or otherwise injure the baby.
 

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