Monday, September 10, 2007

Remember tummy time for baby

SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, gets the attention of every parent of a newborn, and so does the advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics to ALWAYS put baby to sleep on his or her back. That's the best way to prevent SIDS. No professional disputes the advice.

As a result, a whole bunch of objects, generally cushions of one kind or another, have materialized in the marketplace to ensure that babies stay on their backs. These are a little controversial, as in, "Is it really necessary? Newborns can't roll over anyway." Most parents I know aren't taking any chances. They buy the accessory.

Now comes the wrinkle. According to a study earlier this year in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, there's a dramatic increase in the number of infants suffering from a deformity called positional plagiocephaly, AKA flattening of the head. Twenty years ago, one in 300 babies suffered from this. Now, it's one in 20.

The likely culprit is the mandate for babies to sleep on the back. Ricardo Hahn, a family physician and professor at the University of Southern California, has launched a campaign to educate parents on how to comply with the Back to Sleep guideline, and prevent head flatenning, which is linked to a loss of hair, permanent head flattening, and lack of symmetry in ear placement. He's boiled his advice down to TOTS:

T = Tummy time. When your baby is awake, be sure to give him plenty of time lying on his tummy. (That also is important for strengthening head and neck muscles.)

O = opposite side of the crib. When you put your baby to sleep, alternate which end of the crib you place him in. That means he isn't always lying on the same spot of his head.

T = Turn his head periodically. When he's awake and on his back, gently orient his head slightly differently each time, say slightly to the right or the left.

S = Switch arms. When you're holding her, reposition her in your arm, again, so head isn't always resting on the same spot.

John Persing, a plastic surgeon at Yale School of Medicine and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says this is all good advice.

"What I wish all parents would know is that they need to start doing this from Day 1. I even wish nurses and doctors in the normal newborn nursery would pay more attention to this. That That from day one, when you put the baby down on his back for sleep, the first night you orient his head to one side, and the next night you alternate and orient it to the other. The key is to start from the beginning, because otherwise some babies will develop a preference for one side or the other and only sleep on that side."

Persing also offers this advice about tummy time: "Make sure it's well-supervised, and that the baby is on a for-fitted sheet or on the floor, so that fabric can't bunch up beneath the mouth or nose."

This is all pretty simple, but just to be crystal clear, let's summarize: When you put your baby to sleep, always put her on her back. When she's awake, find ways to move her around so her head does not always rest on the same spot.

Listen to this podcast of Hahn to hear his explanation, or click here to read it.

Posted by Barbara Meltz at 02:27 PM

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