If you’re a new parent, you can’t help but hear about “belly time.” This is the idea that, from birth, babies should be placed on their stomach for a little while each day to help them use muscles they wouldn’t use if they were lying on their backs. Is it something important for parents with their newborns? Or is there just something else to worry about?
The NHS recommends that babies spend more time on their stomach each day, first lying on their parents’ chests and then on the floor. It says: “Time to lie on your stomach helps strengthen your back, neck and shoulders, but also gives you [your baby] a different view of the world!
It’s hard to disagree with the last part – it’s definitely true that lying on your stomach expands the range of things your baby sees, and you have every right to do it for that reason alone. And, for the avoidance of doubt, there is no reason No Give your baby tummy time – no one says it will hurt him.
Since parents are so concerned about literally following official rules, it’s worth taking a look at how much research has been done to back up the claims made. For example, the US National Institutes of Health claims that lying on your stomach for 3-5 minutes several times a day (the duration increases over time) “improves your child’s motor skills” and “prevents flat spots on the head.”
In 2020, researchers reviewed all available data on the prone position. They found a total of 16 studies, some of which measured the length of a tummy tuck and followed children months later to see if it was due to their later development.
At least on the surface, this seems like a good thing for the addicted. For example, one study found that children who spent more time lying down or lying down each day achieved some developmental milestones faster than others, such as: B. the ability to lift and turn their head and look into the face of an adult when spoken to. Another found that even before the age of three, children who spent more time on their tummy as infants showed an advantage in their motor skills.
What about children who develop a flat head? In fact, there was only one study that found this, in particular the rather confusing conclusion that “children who spent time on their stomachs less than three times a day” had a slightly higher risk of a flat spot at the back of their heads.
This is not very convincing, especially since flat spots usually disappear on their own as children grow. In any case, another study showed that the lying position did not affect the shape of the head.
Unfortunately, scientists were only able to find one study in which experiment — that is, where the researchers actually stepped in to try and increase tummy time, rather than simply observe how much time kids spend on their tummy and check their health outcomes later.
Even then, this experiment was not randomized (this would allow comparison of similar groups of infants, where the main difference was the length of stay on the tummy).
Non-experimental, non-randomized studies are no small matter, but they are among the weakest forms of evidence. Imagine a similar situation in adults. Imagine that people with a stronger grip (a common measure of physical condition used by doctors) tend to be healthier later in life.
Does this mean that grip exercises — say, squeezing a stress-relief ball all day long — will make them healthier? Not necessarily: maybe people with stronger grips are just generally in better physical condition, have always been and always will be – for genetic or other reasons, their bodies are stronger AND more resistant to slingshots and darts of life. In this case, your intervention may not have mattered much – the investigations made embarrassed already existing health.
The same is true for tummy time: it may well be that children who can tolerate being left in various positions, such as on their stomach, without feeling uncomfortable or throwing tantrums, would develop faster. Anywaywhether or not their parents make them bow every day.
In fact, we can only answer this question with the help of randomized experiments, and scientists have hardly bothered about it until now.
This is partly because randomized trials are difficult: no one wants to be in a control group (in this case, the group that doesn’t spend time on their stomachs) among others, especially when they suspect an intervention might be beneficial.
This is understandable: with the NHS and others already strongly recommending belly time, it’s hard to convince parents to do less as part of a study. This means you don’t have to research where the group is. NO Tummy time. You can simply try to increase the number in the group and see if the child develops even faster.
To my knowledge, no such studies have been conducted other than the study mentioned above (which was not randomized).
Another major problem with the studies was that they tended not to include an objective measure of tummy time — they simply asked parents to remember how much time they spent on their tummy over the past few weeks. This doesn’t completely destroy research, but it does mean that their results become more erratic as they are influenced by the vagaries of human memory.
All of the above shortcomings have resulted in researchers reviewing studies on tummy time scoring almost every study as having a “high” risk of bias, i.e. drawing biased conclusions due to problems in study design. But, somewhat inexplicably, they still stated that research “can be used to educate parents about the benefits of lying down.”
There is one last argument why we want to take a closer look at the lying position: some doctors claim that it reduces the risk of infant mortality. The American Academy of Pediatrics last year changed its recommendations for the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) to include specific recommendations for lying down.
SIDS is actually one of the reasons stomach time exists as a concept. In the 1940s and 1950s, doctors advised children to sleep on their stomachs.
Some researchers argue that this was the disastrous advice that led to higher rates of SIDS because babies actually have a harder time breathing in that position. Strong advice these days is that babies should sleep on their backs. The tummy position, which is always done when the baby is awake and supervised, is a way to give him some time in a different position.
So what led to the recent policy change? Was this the study that clearly showed that time spent on your stomach is associated with lower levels of SIDS? NO. Although their article focuses on SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics only cites studies on the prone position, which reduces the risk of a flat head.
This is yet another example of the fragility of evidence behind much of the advice parents hear every day. When you trace a claim—even from the most authoritative sources—to an obvious source, there is often little or no support for it.
The Department of Health and Welfare, which was responsible for compiling the NHS recommendations, did not respond to i’s request for comment on the science behind the recommendations at the time of publication.
Some may argue that we are too attached to our studies. We don’t always need a randomized controlled trial before believing in something, and sometimes a little common sense is enough.
Maybe it just makes sense to let the child train different muscles. But when you don’t have studies, it’s easy to rely on anecdotes – and get lost in the “confusion” described above.
As far as research is concerned, scientists may be starting to come together. Last year, researchers in Australia published the design of this randomized controlled trial in the supine position. The plan is just to see if it’s possible to increase tummy time with WhatsApp reminders (and this isn’t the first study to do this), but we can hope to see what impact on children’s health can be measured later. . research on. up.
Until we have hard evidence, there’s no harm in trying the prone position, even just to give your child a little variety. But if your child doesn’t like it or you forget, don’t beat yourself up. Despite the confident claims of various medical authorities, there is little scientific evidence to support the benefits of the prone position.
Source: I News
With a background in journalism and a passion for technology, I am an experienced writer and editor. As an author at 24 News Reporter, I specialize in writing about the latest news and developments within the tech industry. My work has been featured on various publications including Wired Magazine and Engadget.