What is tumBest Tummy Time For Newborns And Babiesmy time?
Tummy time means spending time with the baby lying on their stomach instead of their back. This is usually done on the floor and should be done while the baby is awake and playing. A parent should always observe the baby’s tummy time. When the baby is on tummy time, the baby should never be left alone. Any moment a baby spends on their tummy can be considered tummy time. Generally, doctors aim for 30 minutes of tummy time per day.
When to start tummy time?
You can place your baby on tummy time soon after birth. There are no specific guidelines for how long a baby’s tummy time should last or how many sessions should occur throughout the day. However, the World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 30 minutes a day for babies under 6 months of age. It is not necessary to maintain this time for 30 minutes continuously.
You can introduce short tummy times at certain points in the daily routine, such as after the baby sleeps or feeds. By the time the baby is one and a half years old, the benefits of tummy time are spreading. However, even if babies are placed in the tummy at this time, they will not stay that way for long. They will not stay in the same position for long because they are trying to roll.
Why is tummy time important?
Placing babies in the tummy time provides several benefits to the baby. Therefore, doctors recommend a baby’s tummy time. Now let’s see what they are.
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Improved perception
Different positions and motor behaviors help your baby understand their environment, improve cognition, and interact socially with others. During tummy time, babies learn to interact with the world around them and learn about air and gravity on the surface they lie on.
Tummy time will teach babies to balance and equilibrium. They learn that they can lift their head, shift their weight, move their arms, and change their posture. These lessons are most helpful as they learn to roll over, sit, crawl, and walk.
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Head shape
Newborns sleep more and doctors recommend that they stay on their backs whenever they sleep. Constant pressure on the back or side of a baby’s head while sleeping contributes to plagiocephaly. Therefore, the flat side of the baby’s head is directed towards the back. Hence, you can put babies on tummy time almost every time they are awake. Then the time spent sleeping on their backs is greatly reduced. It can prevent abnormalities in the shape of the baby’s head.
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Gross motor development
Studies have shown that motor skills are acquired earlier when babies spend more time in the tummy. These development milestones include lifting and turning the head, bringing the hands to the mouth, rolling over, crawling, sitting, and walking. Tummy time also helps in reducing the body mass index of older children, increasing fine motor skills and later fitness.
How does it help with other developmental stages?
Baby’s tummy time accelerates gross motor development. However, how can simple positioning lead to such high progress? There are three ways. They are,
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Neuromuscular development
Tummy times allow babies to develop their neurological and muscular systems.
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Neck extension
Babies lift their heads and stretch their necks to see around during tummy time. It causes them to lift their head and strengthen their neck muscles when placed on their tummy.
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Working against gravity
Tummy time provides an opportunity to practice and learn the skill of working against gravity. It also helps with later motor skills such as pulling to stand up.
What are the tummy time milestones?
Tummy time helps the baby reach other development milestones sooner. However, it also includes its own set of milestones. Newborn babies are still during the tummy time. However, they learn new skills as they grow older. Babies’ strength grows from head to toe. The first posture of the abdomen is the lifting of the head. As babies grow and mature, energy moves downward. Tummy time gives babies the following milestones.
- Babies can lift their heads.
- Turn their head from side to side
- When you talk to them, they turn their head to look at you.
- Babies lift their shoulders and use their arms and hands to prop up their chest and head.
- When laying on their tummy, babies kick their feet.
How can a baby be kept safe during tummy time?
You should take care to keep babies safe while they are in tummy time. Remember to only put your baby on tummy time especially when they are awake. Now let’s consider what we need to know when babies are at the tummy time.
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Supervise them
Always supervise babies when they are on tummy time. Keep your eyes on them. Then you can see if their face is stuck. Likewise, you can act before they suffocate or injure themselves.
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Use a safe surface
Place the baby on a flat surface to prevent suffocation. It can also cause the baby to roll over inadvertently when they are in a rolling position.
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Make the area hazard-free
Keep the baby in the tummy time area without any hazards. Choking hazards, such as cords and wires that can become entangled and anything that can roll or get stuck.
Conclusion
Babies’ tummy time is a beneficial thing that helps babies improve perception, maintain head shape, gross motor development, etc. Hence, you should keep your babies in tummy time for at least 30 minutes. However, you should be careful while your baby is at tummy time. Why? Keep an eye on babies when they are on tummy time as they can get stuck in their faces and suffocate. Read more medical research papers to get more information about the baby’s tummy time.