Health News
Today's infants are spending too much time on their backs or in sitting devices, which is causing an increase in head and neck deformities and slowing down their motor development, Susan Effgen, a physical therapy professor at the University of Kentucky, writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
This is easily remedied by making sure infants spend most of their waking hours on their tummies, even during the first few weeks of life, Effgen suggests.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants should sleep on their backs because it significantly reduces the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
While most parents may know that, any are not aware of how important it is for infants to spend time on their bellies, Effgen writes.
Time on their bellies allows them to learn to move and explore their environment, Effgen writes. You can encourage your infant when they are on their tummies by having them to lift up their heads and look around, giving them objects to reach for and encouraging them to prop up on their elbows or hands, These activities help to build strong back and neck muscles needed later for sitting, crawling, walking and talking.
If your infant doesn't like tummy time, Effgen suggest parents lie on their back and place the infant on their belly to let them practice for several days until they are used to this position. Eventually, practice tummy time together on a baby-proofed floor with fun, appropriate objects placed at their eye level.
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Health News
Time on the tummy is important for infants' muscle development
Today's infants are spending too much time on their backs or in sitting devices, which is causing an increase in head and neck deformities and slowing down their motor development, Susan Effgen, a physical therapy professor at the University of Kentucky, writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader.This is easily remedied by making sure infants spend most of their waking hours on their tummies, even during the first few weeks of life, Effgen suggests.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants should sleep on their backs because it significantly reduces the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
While most parents may know that, any are not aware of how important it is for infants to spend time on their bellies, Effgen writes.
Time on their bellies allows them to learn to move and explore their environment, Effgen writes. You can encourage your infant when they are on their tummies by having them to lift up their heads and look around, giving them objects to reach for and encouraging them to prop up on their elbows or hands, These activities help to build strong back and neck muscles needed later for sitting, crawling, walking and talking.
If your infant doesn't like tummy time, Effgen suggest parents lie on their back and place the infant on their belly to let them practice for several days until they are used to this position. Eventually, practice tummy time together on a baby-proofed floor with fun, appropriate objects placed at their eye level.
- Kentucky Doctor Honored For Her Work In Bolstering Health And Preventing Deaths Of Babies Born A Few Weeks Early
A Kentucky neonatalogist was honored this week for giving the state "a role in catalyzing a national movement around healthier babies." Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., division director for maternal and child health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health,...
- Brains Of Autistic Children Develop Differently, Study Finds
MRI image of young brain in studyResearchers have found significant differences in brain development starting at age 6 months in high-risk infants who develop autism compared to those who don't. The finding suggests the disorder develops over time...
- Keeping Your Infant Safe
Since 1989, U.S. hospitals have worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to implement measures designed to prevent infant abduction, such as the case of Carlina White. Over the last two decades, the number of in-hospital...
- Sinai Works With Parents To Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome
Your newborn won?t stop crying. What is your plan? That?s the conversation many nurses at Sinai Hospital are increasingly having with post-partum mothers, and their partners, before the baby goes home. The goal is to reduce the incidence of Shaken Baby...
- Celebrate National Social Work Month
In honor of Professional Social Work Month, we sat down with Jennifer Gandel Kachura Neonatal Intensive Care Unit social worker Erin Gillard, LCSW-C. Erin is one of the many dedicated social workers in the LifeBridge Health system, and spends her days...