Should the baby's legs be bound after birth? Why not bind the legs of newborns?

We all know that when a baby is just born, all parts of the body are not fully developed, especially the bones. In order to prevent the baby from having O-shaped legs or X-shaped legs, many parents will tie up the baby's legs. This is a relatively traditional custom. So do newborns need to tie their legs? Let's take a closer look!

Should I wear leggings after my baby is born?

The answer is no!

In some places, there is a custom of leg binding or the more serious custom of "candle wrapping". In order to make the children's legs grow straight in the future, the elders often say that if the children's legs are not bound, they will appear O-shaped or X-shaped.

In fact, leg binding or candle wrapping are unscientific. Newborns' legs have physiological curvatures, and forcibly binding them is not conducive to the healthy development of babies.

On the one hand, leg binding will affect the baby's blood circulation, and the baby will feel uncomfortable and cry for no reason.

On the other hand, the bones of newborn babies are still very fragile and immature. Excessive binding will lead to poor development of the baby's leg bones, making it more likely that the baby will have X- or O-shaped legs in the future.

Newborn babies can be simply wrapped. Proper wrapping can give the baby a sense of security as being protected in the womb. You can simply wrap the baby with a blanket, without restricting the baby's free stretching, or directly use a sleeping bag to give the baby a certain sense of security.

Why can't newborn babies have their legs tied?

1. Affect bone development

Because newborns' bones are very soft and they like to surrender, wrapping them too tightly will affect the baby's bone development, blood circulation in the extremities, and the development of gross motor skills.

2. Not conducive to skin heat dissipation

A baby's body temperature is higher than that of an adult, and so is his perceived temperature. If he is wrapped too tightly, he will sweat easily, and friction on the skin will irritate the skin and cause inflammation.

3. Affects breathing

If the restraint is too tight, it will affect the activity and breathing of the baby's lungs and diaphragm, and increase the chance of lung infection.

4. Affects eating

If the baby is wrapped too tightly, it will compress the stomach and intestines, which will affect the baby's feeding, appetite and cause vomiting.

5. Affects brain development

Babies perceive the outside world through their limbs. Excessive binding will limit babies' perception of the outside world and will only affect their brain development.

What factors affect the development of baby's legs?

1. Long-term bundling

Many older generations have the custom of binding the baby's legs, believing that this can make the baby's legs straighter. However, they do not realize that this will cause poor blood flow in the baby's legs and interfere with the normal development of the baby's bones, resulting in O-shaped legs or X-shaped legs.

2. Learning to stand and walk too early

Many parents are anxious and hope that their babies can learn to walk earlier, but they do not know that the baby's bone development and gross motor development follow certain rules. If the baby stands for a long time too early, insufficient calcium deposition in the bones may affect its development and cause bow legs in the future.

3. Bad sitting posture

Bad habits such as sitting in a "W" posture, sitting cross-legged, or crossing your legs can also cause problems with the development of your baby's leg bones. Long-term imbalance in the forces at the knee joint and ankle joint can induce O-shaped legs or X-shaped legs.

4. Wearing ill-fitting shoes

Many parents are frugal and will let their babies wear "second-hand shoes" or "large shoes", which may damage the baby's leg muscles and uneven force on the lower limbs, resulting in O-shaped legs or X-shaped legs. In addition, often wearing ill-fitting shoes can easily cause foot inflammation and flat feet.