Yarn & Babies
A growing body of scientific evidence is helping to establish the clear link between wool and well-being. Nowhere is this translated more convincingly than with babies and newborns.
Wool Keeps Babies Warm
Keeping babies warm helps them stay healthy and well – and happy! Babies use a lot of energy to keep warm if they are in a cold environment or are dressed inappropriately. Wool helps babies retain the energy reserves they need: Researchers found that weight gain in underweight newborns was 61% higher when they slept on a wool underlay instead of cotton.1
Babies cannot adapt to changes in temperature as well as adults and can lose heat quickly, almost four times faster than an adult. 2, 3
… But Not TOO Warm
Wool, a protein-based fiber made of keratin (like human hair) helps regulate body temperature and reduces the risk of overheating. Petroleum-based fabrics such as polyester, acrylic, and nylon do not have this natural ability!
But wool allows the skin to breathe naturally, helps prevent sweating, and allows the body to find a natural balance.
Natural breathability = naturally more comfortable: Wool can absorb up to 35% of its own weight in water and release it into the air. This means that moisture does not remain on the skin.4, 5, 6, 7
Hardly Allergenic
Wool is rarely allergenic: We now know that what was once called “wool allergy” is not an allergy at all, but a reaction to the contact of coarser fibers with nerve receptors in the skin.8
Finer wools like Merino are soft and gentle on the skin. In fact, clothing made from "superfine" wool (wool with an average diameter of ≤ 17.5 microns) has shown benefits for people with eczema or atopic dermatitis – both adults and children. 9.10.11.12
Good Sleep
Sleep is the main activity of the brain during early development. Numerous studies have shown that the first three years of life are a particularly sensitive period for sleep and its relationship to brain development. 13, 14, 15
Studies have found that babies who slept with Merino wool had a lower activity rate and deeper, more restorative sleep. They settled faster, cried less, slept longer, and gained weight faster.
In a study of Australian preschoolers and bedding, researchers found that children who slept on synthetic bedding had sleep problems more often than those who slept on cotton or wool.1
And a British study of very low birth weight babies showed significantly greater weight gain when they were nursed with lamb's wool instead of cotton sheets.16
Best for Baby, Best for Mother Earth
It goes without saying that parents want the best for their baby, and wool makes it easy to offer a solution that also preserves the planet.
Wool is the essence of renewal – every year, sheep produce a new fleece, the result of grass, water, air, and sun.
Wool is known for its biodegradability on land and in water. At the end of its useful life, wool can be returned to the soil or marine environment, where it decomposes and releases nourishing, nitrogen-based nutrients.
Half the weight of clean wool is pure organic carbon, derived from carbon in the atmosphere. In contrast, the carbon in synthetic fibers such as polyester and acrylic is derived from fossil fuels stored underground millions of years ago, where they were preserved by nature.
Choose wool for your baby and help protect the planet for future generations.
1 R. Laing and P. Swan, Wool in Human Health and Well-Being, Natural Fibres: Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications (Springer, Netherlands, 2016), pp. 19-34.
2 Livestrong https://www.livestrong.com/article/531290-why-babies-must-be-kept-warm/
3 Stanford Children’s Health https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=warmth-and-temperature-regulation-90-P02425
4 Shin, M., Halaki, M., Swan, P., Ireland, A. and M.C. Kinn. The effects of fabrics for sleepwear and bedding on sleep at ambient temperatures of 17°C and 22°C, Nature and Science of Sleep 2016; 8: 121–131. Published online April 22, 2016 doi: 10.2147/NSS.S100271
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4853167/
5 Rae and R. Bruce, The Wira Textile Data book, Leeds: The Wool Industries Research Association, 1973, A64
6 Speakman J. B & Cooper C. A. The Adsorption of Water by Wool, Part I – Adsorption Hysteresis, Journal of the Textile Institute Transactions, 1936 27: 7, T183-T185 (http://dx.doi.
org/10.1080/19447023608661680).
7 Urquhart, Alexander Robert B.Sc., A.I.C. and Williams, Alexander Mitchell M.A., D.Sc. The effect of temperature on the water absorption of soda-cooked cotton, Journal of the Textile Institute
Transactions, 1924, 15:12. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19447022408661326)
8 Debunking the Myth of Wool Allergy: Reviewing the evidence for immunological and non-immune skin reactions. Acta Derm Venereol 2017;97:906–15
9 JC Su, R. Dailey, M. Zallmann et al. Determining Effects of Superfine Sheep Wool in Infantile Eczema (DESSINE): a randomized pediatric crossover study. Br. J. Dermatol 2017;177:125–33
10 Spelman LJ et al. An investigator-blinded, clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of superfine Merino wool garments (SMWBG) in children with atopic dermatitis (AD) to measure SCORAD, EASI, POEM and DSA scores. Biomed J Sci Tech Res 2018; 7: 5687–92
11 Fowler JF et al. The effects of Merino wool on atopic dermatitis using clinical, quality of life and physiological outcome parameters. Dermatitis 2019;30:198–206
12 Spelman LJ et al. A pilot study to determine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Merino baselayers in the treatment of mild, moderate or severe dermatitis in a clothing-occluded area: AWI001. 23rd World Congress of Dermatology, Vancouver, Canada, 2015.
13 US National Sleep Foundation (https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/children-and-sleep)
14 Graven, S., Browne, J., Sleep and brain development: The critical role of sleep in the development of the fetal and early neonatal brain. Reviews in Neonatal and Infant Nursing, Volume 8, Issue 4, December 2008, Pages 173-179. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1527336908001323
15 Kelly, Y., Kelly, J., Sacker, A. Time for bed: Associations with cognitive performance in 7-year-old children: a population-based longitudinal study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2013;67:926-931.
Dahl, Ronald MD. Sleep and the developing brain. Sleep. 2007 September 1; 30(9): 1079–1080. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1978403/
16 Scott, S., Cole, T., Lucas, P. and Richards, M. Weight gain and movement patterns of very low birth weight babies nursed on lamb’s wool. The Lancet. October 29, 1983
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(83)90990-X/fulltext
Author: International Wool, Textile Organization
