The Born Community: What are the Benefits of Babies Sleeping on Lambskins?

Lambskins are well loved by many parents, and their babies, as a safe and natural way of promoting restful sleep. However a study has also found that babies who sleep on animal fur are almost 80 per cent less likely to go on to develop asthma.

As reported in The Daily Telegraph, German researchers found that babies who sleep on animal fur for the first three months of life are almost 80 per cent less likely to have asthma at age six. The effect reduced somewhat as the children grew up with those who slept on animal fur early on 40 per cent less likely to have asthma at age ten.

It is thought exposing babies to the microbes in animal skins helps them create a healthier immune system.

In addition to these newly found health benefits, sleeping on natural lambskin or sheepskin can support restful, healthy sleep for your baby. Babies who sleep on lambskins benefit from the temperature regulating properties of the wool, which helps keep them cool during hot nights and warm during colder nights. This is especially beneficial for little/low birth weight babies, as they expend less energy keeping warm - and can use it to grow instead!

The lambskins will absorb your unique smell if you lie on it before your baby is born, which provides additional comfort to your child, helping them to settle and feel more relaxed.

The Bowron Lambskin Sleeping Rug at Born

The lambskins are perfect to use if you bed share with your baby and as they are so transportable, are ideal for holidays or nights away. They are ideal to use for tummy time and we have found that toddlers and older children adore lounging about on them, as they are beautifully soft and have that soothing security of having been theirs since babyhood!

At Born, we love the lambskins handcrafted by New Zealand producers, Bowron. All Bowron Sheepskins are 100% free of chemicals and are Oko-tex approved. In the 1990's, Bowron led the world with the introduction of the new bench mark in the tanning process known as the ‘Whitan Process’. This process quickly became internationally recognized as a break through, resulting in improved quality and significantly reduced environmental impact.

Hand crafting the lambskin: Bowron

The wool on Bowron Sheepskins is bleached during processing, but no chlorinated chemicals are used at any stage of the tanning process. They are sourced and tanned in New Zealand and then shipped to Vietnam to be sewn and packed in workshops that comply with the ethical standards that Bowron promote. Furthermore, no animals are killed specifically for their skins.

So whether you choose the shorn or unshorn sleeping rug, the luxuriously soft infant cocoon or the gorgeously snuggly pushchair liner, you know your baby will be resting on a lambskin that is safe for them, safe for the environment, ethical, 100% natural and supportive of your baby's health and wellbeing.