According to an article that was published in the Globe & Mail on September 8th, improper swaddling may be damaging to a baby's hips.
According to Dr. Dan Borschneck, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Queen’s University/Kingston General Hospital, this article is bang on. The Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon quoted, Dr. Charles Price, is a very well respected surgeon and his website is an excellent source of information on hip dysplasia – be sure to watch the video showing how to swaddle your baby properly if you are unsure of the technique.
Fortunately, Dr. Borschneck doesn’t think this is a problem in our area, most infants he sees are being loosely swaddled which may be reflected by our low rates of developmental dysplasia of the hip.