Welcoming a new baby into your family is an exciting journey filled with learning, love, and sometimes a little trial and error. One of the most important aspects of this journey is establishing breastfeeding, which sets the stage for a strong milk supply and helps your baby get the nutrition they need. While many parents choose to swaddle their infants to promote sleep and reduce night-waking, it's essential to understand how this practice can impact breastfeeding, especially in those early weeks. This guide will help you find the balance between swaddling and encouraging your baby’s natural feeding cues.

Understanding Baby’s Early Feeding Cues

Babies have their own ways of telling us when they are hungry. Common feeding cues include:

  • Rooting or turning toward the breast

  • Sucking on their hands or fingers

  • Making smacking or licking noises

Supporting these cues is vital for feed frequency, infant weight gain, and breast milk production. When babies are swaddled too often or too tightly, their infant body movements can be restricted, which may inhibit these key feeding prompts. In other words, swaddling can work too “well,” making it harder for babies, especially newborns, to wake for feedings.

Observational studies show that swaddling can delay initial breastfeeding, interfere with successful suckling, and contribute to slower weight gain. Additionally, swaddling can discourage essential skin-to-skin contact, which is crucial for recognizing early hunger cues and responsive feeding. Limiting your baby’s movement may also affect the Moro—or startle reflex—a natural protective movement that helps babies wake for feedings, which can sometimes contribute to greater weight loss in the early weeks and challenge successful breastfeeding.

Why Are Babies' Hands Always in the Way?

It can feel frustrating when your little one’s busy fingers get in the way during breastfeeding—or leave tiny scratches on their sweet little face! But those little hand movements are an important part of early feeding behavior and research shows that these seemingly clumsy hand movements are a good thing and have surprising benefits!

  • Hand-to-Mouth Movements: Ultrasound studies show that babies bring their hands to their mouths even before birth, helping them prepare for infant feeding.

  • Positioning Cues: Babies use their hands to help adjust position on their mother’s body and locate the nipple before latching onto the breast.

  • Soothing Motions: Infants use hand-to-mouth motions and suck on their fingers to soothe themselves before latching.

  • Latch Support: Skin-to-skin massage at the breast and areola, cause mother's nipple to become more “perky” and easier to latch onto.

  • Hormonal Surge: These massage-like movements also increase your oxytocin levels, which is the hormone responsible for your milk flow.

How to Work with Busy Hands

  • Skin-to-Skin: Holding your baby frequently helps you respond quickly when you notice your baby’s early feeding cues.

  • Respond Promptly: Offer your breast as soon as you notice your baby's early feeding cues. A fussy, frantic baby with an urgent need to feed is more likely to interfere with their hands, rather than use them purposefully. 

  • Laid-back Positioning: This position supports your baby’s breastfeeding reflexes, allowing them to use their hands to locate your breast and achieve a good latch.

  • Time to Explore: If your baby is calmly using their hands to find your breast, allow them the time—they’re preparing for a more effective latch.

  • Nail Care: Gently file any sharp fingernails instead of using mittens, so your baby can freely use their hands without scratching themselves—or you.

Why Minimize Swaddling? 

When your baby is learning to breastfeed, it’s best to avoid swaddling during feedings. Swaddling during feeds can interfere with your baby’s self-latching attempts, sometimes leading to:

  • Poor Positioning

  • Shallow or painful latches

  • Less effective suckling

  • Reduced milk transfer and less milk

  • Slow weight gain

Swaddling can also discourage important skin-to-skin contact, which helps you notice early hunger cues and encourages more frequent infant feeding, ultimately supporting your milk supply. There is a direct relationship between allowing free infant body movements and more effective, responsive breastfeeding.

Safe Swaddling Tips

Swaddling can still be used safely and occasionally to provide warmth and comfort, as long as it doesn’t interfere with feeding. Here’s how to do it safely:      

  • Do not swaddle during breastfeeding—let your baby’s hands move freely.

  • Always place your baby on their back when swaddled.

  • Use a lightweight, thin blanket for comfort without overheating.

  • Keep your baby’s hips loose as tight swaddling can be a potential cause of developmental dysplasia. Ensure the swaddle is loose enough to fit 3-4 fingers between your baby and the swaddle.

  • Allow your baby access to their hands within the swaddle. See a video demonstration here.

  • Avoid weighted blankets or weighted swaddles, as they are not safe at any time in infancy.

  • Stop swaddling when your baby shows first signs of trying to roll over. Research in the Journal of Pediatrics suggests swaddling should be used only in infants under 3 months of age who cannot yet roll.

  • Consider transitioning to a sleep sack, which allows free leg movement while keeping your baby cozy.

  • Dress your baby lightly and use a lightweight blanket. Signs of overheating include sweating, damp hair, flushed cheeks, and rapid breathing.

By staying mindful of how swaddling influences early infant behavior and feeding ability, you can be better prepared to support all your little one's needs. Thoughtful, occasional swaddling combined with breastfeeding on-cue encourages responsive feeding, protects your milk supply, and strengthens your connection with your baby.

Disclaimer: Our classes and accompanying materials are intended for general education purposes and should not replace medical advice. For personalized recommendations, please consult your healthcare provider and/or lactation consultant.