Finding ways to keep your newborn calm and happy can be daunting. Babies cry for lots of reasons: when they’re hungry, cold, hot, gassy or just because they need to release some energy. Calming a fussy baby can be a challenge, but this is where science can help.
Vibrations, or vibrotactile stimulation, has been shown to calm even the fussiest babies. For example, newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), or babies born to mothers who were drug users while pregnant, show extreme fussiness, irritability and inability to sleep calmly. They are typically treated with medications for a period of time. Vibrations have been shown in clinical studies to help calm opioid-exposed newborns; it is one of the most effective and harmless techniques for soothing all infants.
Vibrations work because these loud, repetitive sounds are familiar to infants. In the womb, babies experience noises and vibrations including blood rushing through the placenta, mom’s heartbeat, and mom’s movements. This is why babies find vibrations soothing - it takes them back to the womb. Have you noticed how babies usually calm down when you take them for a ride in the car? Car vibrations are repetitive motions set to a rhythm.
The Baby Brezza Smart Soothing Mat offers a natural way to calm your baby and help him or her sleep by mimicking the sounds and motions of the womb, which activates your baby’s natural calming response. It is lightweight, portable, easy to use and to clean, and features 4 levels of vibration, 4 heartbeat modes and an automatic 60 minute shut-off. Plus you can operate it using your phone via Bluetooth. As a pediatrician, I also love the fact that your baby can still sleep on his/her back, following safe sleep practices.
I recommend the Baby Brezza Smart Soothing Mat to all new parents as a natural way to help soothe their baby for better sleep!
-- By Jacqueline Winkelmann, Board-Certified Pediatrician and Former Chief-of-Staff CHOC Children’s Hospital