Imitate the womb to help turn on your baby’s ‘calming reflex’

While the arrival of a new baby is joyful and miraculous, it also can be a challenging time. In fact, many new parents have shared that they never anticipated the exhaustion and stress associated with caring for a newborn, particularly during their baby’s ”fussy” times.

Dr. Harvey Karp has identified specific techniques for new parents to calm their baby’s cries. ”As fathers and mothers learn the techniques to calm their crying babies, they become not abusers, but happier, more competent and more confident parents.” Karp hopes this information can help prevent abuse and turn an upsetting situation into a loving one.

After consulting your pediatrician to ensure that your baby is healthy and thriving, Karp believes parents need to learn two key things:

• As odd as it sounds, in many ways newborns are not really ready for the world. They need what Karp describes as the “fourth trimester.”
• The five methods Karp has identified for parents to turn on their baby’s “calming reflex.”

FOURTH TRIMESTER

During pregnancy, babies are essentially held, fed and comforted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, they are exposed to a great deal of jiggling and the constant noise of blood whooshing through the placenta (which is believed to be as loud as a vacuum cleaner). Karp tells parents to consider how strange it must be for their newborn to leave that busy uterine world and suddenly be brought into a nursery that’s quiet and still.

”Unlike horses, able to run on the first day of life, our newborns are quite immature,” he said.

He says they need a ”fourth trimester” of extra cuddling and closeness, not because they miss the uterus, but because the jiggling, noise and snugness of the uterus are the exact triggers that activate a baby’s “calming reflex.”

Typically, by 3 or 4 months old, babies’ systems become more mature and developed, and they can initiate self-soothing strategies and better cope with their new surroundings.

PEACE POINTERS

In the meantime, Karp offers five steps for imitating a baby’s life in the uterus.

”While parents instinctively want to calm their babies,” Karp said, “knowing how to do it is anything but instinctive. It’s a skill that takes practice. But once parents learn it, it’s actually easy.”

He suggests the following techniques to help soothe babies and calm crying:

• Swaddling: Snug swaddling in a large blanket mimics the tight fit and continuous touching in the uterus. But Karp cautions parents not to allow their babies to get overheated or to sleep with loose wrappings.
• Side/stomach position: When babies are held on their sides or stomachs during waking hours, they often feel more secure and less likely to experience a startle reflex. Karp warns, however, never to put a baby to sleep on his stomach or side. Having babies sleep only on their backs is believed to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Shhhhing sound: This noise mimics the sound of the placental blood flow and is done as loudly as the baby is crying.
• Swinging: ”Crying babies need tiny jiggling motions — no stronger than a shiver — to calm them,” Karp said. Then, once soothed, rhythmic movements such as rocking, swinging and wearing your baby in a sling can help calm newborns.
• Sucking: ”Sucking,” Karp said, ‘is like the icing on the cake. It triggers the `calming reflex’ and causes deep and profound relaxation.”

Karp urges parents to be patient with themselves, their partner, and their baby. Learning to adjust to new parenthood and learning the techniques that help soothe babies take time. But he believes that with a little practice, anyone can learn these skills and have a successful, happy and loving experience with their new babies.

Posted on April 24, 2003, at miamiherald.com