hi mummies,
here's something I read in another parent support group that i join, thought u might be interestd:
(
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5128144.stm)
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Babies need 'tummy time' to develop
By Jane Elliott
BBC News health reporter
Each night little Isobel Nash is placed to sleep on her back.
Beverley, her mother, is well aware that placing Isobel on her tummy
to sleep could increase her risk of cot death.
But every day Isobel also gets "tummy time" - a period of the day set
aside specifically for her to lie on her stomach.
Physiotherapists are warning however, that more and more children are
missing out on this special time, and their development is being stunted.
Statistics show 19% of mothers with children under six months old
never put their babies on their fronts to play and only 22% regularly
give their babies "tummy time".
Peta Smith, vice chair of the Association of Paediatric Chartered
Physiotherapists (APCP), said that since the Back to Sleep campaign,
which urged parents to place their babies on their backs to sleep,
they had noticed fewer babies were getting protected "tummy time".
She said this had resulted in a delay in these babies reaching
important developmental milestones such as crawling and walking.
"Research shows babies placed on their backs to sleep who were then
placed on their front for extra time during the day were able to roll,
crawl, sit, pull to stand and eventually walk earlier than those who
were mainly placed on their backs," said Peta.
She added that although babies predominantly placed on their backs
eventually catch up in their development skills, that the first few
months of life are an important time for babies to start to become
aware of their bodies and begin to learn movement and balance.
"By spending time on their tummies babies learn to move from side to
side and this helps them learn to reach and crawl.
[...]