Tummy time makes baby strong

It’s very important for your baby to spend enough time on his belly, writes Shanda Luyt. Here’s how you can make the most of tummy time…

IF YOUR LITTLE one protests loudly the moment you put him down on his tummy, it’s easier to just rather pick him up again. But think twice before you do. Not enough tummy time could lead to delays in terms of developmental, cognitive and organisational abilities. It could also cause eyes to struggle to follow objects, says the American physiotherapist Judy Jennings. She co-authored a research article entitled “Conveying the message about optimal infant position”.

This sounds bad. And research shows that our modern lifestyle can make these complications worse. Because so many of us nowadays use car seats for activities outside of the car – like for carrying our infants around or clipping it into the pram without removing the baby – babies tend to spend lots of time in the exact same position. Babies need to be kept in and placed in a variety of positions, Judy says – and tummy time is one of the most important to help with this variation.

WHY TUMMY TIME MATTERS

Tummy time helps tone and strengthen all your baby’s muscles, from head to toe, but it’s especially important to develop and train the neck, back and torso muscles. These muscles are very important for your baby’s healthy development.

Baby needs to practise lifting his head while lying on his tummy every day, and if he doesn’t, his neck muscles won’t strengthen fast enough to really keep up with the increasing weight from his fast-growing noggin. Tummy time also helps prepare the body for rolling over, crawling and sitting by exercising the muscles needed for these actions.

So enough tummy time has an impact on your child’s development milestones. Not enough tummy time could eventually lead to a baby taking longer to reach the milestones.

If you regularly put Baby down on his tummy while he’s awake, it could also help prevent him from developing flat spots on his head, which happens when Baby’s mostly on his back.

A baby also needs enough tummy time to integrate all the early reflexes into usable patterns, so that he can eventually move well, says Pathways Awareness, an American group focusing on early awareness of motor skill problems in children.

In the long run, tummy time lays the foundation for strong muscles that can work in a coordinated fashion, so that when he goes to school one day, he can hold his pencil with ease, has good balance, can jump and walk and follow things with his eyes, and read and focus.

WHEN SHOULD I START?

The experts say you can allow baby to spend short bursts on his tummy from birth. No need to make a big deal of it – put him on your chest while you’re watching television, or put him on his tummy for a bit while you’re running his bath.

You don’t need to put your baby on the ground at first, but make sure to do so when he’s a little older, so that he has maximum freedom of movement. Even if your baby can’t lift his head yet, tummy time will still help strengthen the necessary muscles. At about one month old, your baby should be turning his head from side to side while he’s lying on his tummy.

HOW MUCH TUMMY TIME IS NEEDED?

“Ideally, a baby needs to be placed on his tummy after every nap, every nappy change and every feed, initially for one and up to two minutes every time,” Judy recommends.

As he gets older, you can stretch the periods he spends on his tummy. By three months, your baby should spend a total of an hour’s worth on his tummy every day, broken into smaller chunks of time.

MY BABY HATES IT! WHAT TO DO?

A baby who is not accustomed to regularly being on his tummy won’t like it. Even babies who’ve been put on their tummies from early on may protest. Don’t stop just because your baby is unhappy. There’s just too much at stake in terms of long-term development. But keep tummy-time sessions very brief – even just a few seconds at a time – and keep at it every so often during the day as part of his routine (after every nappy change, for instance) until he gets used to it. Tummy sessions on your lap or chest are a good start.

BACK FOR SLEEP, TUMMY FOR PLAY

Yes, tummy time is of the utmost importance, but don’t be tempted to allow your baby to sleep on his tummy. Sleeping on the tummy considerably increases the risk of cot death (SIDS). Allow your baby to lie on his tummy while he’s awake and you’re with him.

PHONE THE DOCTOR WHEN…

› Baby always wants to turn his head to one side only.

› He can’t lift his head and push himself up on his forearms by three months. The earlier motor skill issues are spotted and addressed, the better the chance of improvement.