Star Wars baby: Video of father putting his baby daughter to sleep by copying Darth Vader's breathing is backed by science

Baby Madison quickly nods off when her father breathes like the former Jedi

Kashmira Gander
Thursday 23 April 2015 21:16 BST
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A father soothes his baby by mimicking Darth Vader
A father soothes his baby by mimicking Darth Vader

An adorable video of a father mimicking Darth Vader’s sinister breathing to send his new born baby is backed by science, according to a sleep specialist.

The video called “The Force Awakes…then falls back asleep” shows YouTube user Buddy Crotty cradling his new born daughter Madison as she cries.

“What’s the matter Madison? What’s the matter Mads? Why you mads? You’re just crying, why are you crying?” he lovingly asks her.

But when Crotty starts breathing like Darth Vader, Madison miraculously stops crying and gurgles before falling alseep.

Rather than secretly being on the dark side, it is more likely that the baby was soothed because her father's Vader-like breathing sounds like the inside of the womb.

Dr Andrew Mayers, a child sleep specialist and expert in post natal depression at Bournemouth University, told The Independent that noises which replicate what a baby hears inside the womb, including the sea or Darth Vader’s white noise-like voice, can calm a child.

“In the womb a foetus hears the mother’s heartbeat and the rushing of the blood, which sounds very similar to the sea and that’s a very comforting for the baby," he said.

He also explained that Madison likely recognises her father’s voice from when she heard him from inside the womb, as developing foetuses can hear what is going on around them, including music and people talking.

“We know that similar sounds played later make the child respond. Maybe what has happened here is that the baby is recognising the father’s voice, and is finding it very soothing.”

He went on to warn parents against using the same techniques continually for months or years to send their newborns to sleep, or else they will become accustomed to the attention when they are a toddler.

“It’s the kind of thing that should be gently phased out,” he said, but added that newborns are generally guided by their feeding schedules anyway.

Dr Mayers also praised Cutty for being involved in the early stages of raising his child, as fathers can often feel left out when a mother is engaged with feeding in the intial stages of nursing.

“Isn’t it lovely they can be a partnership? I applaud it,” he said.

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