It’s one of the techniques new mums are taught before they leave hospital after giving birth – how to tightly swaddle their babies to help them settle faster and sleep better by recreating the security of the womb.

But a top UK children’s surgeon is calling for an end to the practice, saying it is partly to blame for a rise in hip problems among infants.

Professor Nicholas Clarke, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, says that swaddling babies too tightly can result in hip dysplasia, a condition where the baby’s hip joints are weakened. He claims that forcibly straightening the baby’s legs in a tight swaddle prevents it from flexing and strengthening the weakened joints, with the outcome being a higher number of babies requiring invasive surgical treatment.

‘This form of swaddling used to be very commonly used across the world but, with the help of major educational programmes such as the one used to eliminate the problem in Japan in the 1980s, it was all but eradicated and cases reduced drastically,’ says Professor Clarke.

‘Now, I and my colleagues across the UK and in America are witnessing its revival, with swaddlers being advertised on the internet that tightly wrap babies. For the hips, that is exactly what you don’t want to happen.’

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Professor Clarke says he is not opposed to all swaddling, but expresses grave concern at what he sees as a re-emerging trend to swaddle babies as tightly as possible.

“I advocate swaddling in the right and safe way, which means ensuring babies are not rigidly wrapped but have enough room to bend their legs – they don’t need to have their legs straightened as there is plenty of time to stretch before they start to walk,” he explains.

“But, and this is worrying the orthopaedic community, it seems to be increasingly fashionable among parents to follow the re-emerging trend of tight swaddling.”

Professor Clarke says the trend is driven by retailers selling swaddling wraps which promise to be ‘Houdini-proof’.

‘We need to focus on ensuring the years of hard work and effort made by thousands of clinicians across the world to drive out tight swaddling is not unravelled in a matter of months and that means stepping in immediately.’

All newborn babies in Australia undergo a hip check at birth, and again as part of their six-week check. The preferred treatment for hip dysplasia is the use of a Pavlik harness or Spica cast to keep the hips at right angles for an extended period of time. However, in serious cases, and those which are not picked up at these early screening checks, surgery is required.

• One leg appearing shorter than the other
• An extra deep crease on the inside of the thigh and/or uneven buttock creases
• Dragging one leg when crawling, or walking with a limp

If you are concerned about your baby’s hips, speak to your GP, midwife or Child Health Nurse.

For information on swaddling your baby safely, refer to Professor Clarke’s guidelines for protecting your baby’s hips when swaddling.

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