For babies, the flip side of 'back to sleep'

The 1992 "Back to Sleep" campaign by the American Academy of Pediatrics, aimed at preventing sudden infant death syndrome in infants, has been highly successful. It convinced parents of the vital importance of putting newborns and infants to sleep on their backs.

But that position is for when they're sleeping and unsupervised, says the American Physical Therapy Assn. A national survey of 400 pediatric physical and occupational therapists by the children's health advocacy group Pathways Awareness found that two-thirds of therapists reported increases in motor delays in infants who spend too much time on their backs.

"We have seen first-hand what the lack of tummy time can mean for a baby: developmental, cognitive, and organizational skills delays, eye-tracking problems, and behavioral issues, to name just some complications," said association spokeswoman Judy Towne Jennings from Fairfield, Ohio, in a news release. "New parents are told of the importance of babies sleeping on their backs to avoid SIDS, but they are not always informed about the importance of tummy time."

It's not just when they're asleep that babies are on their backs. What with car seats, infant carriers, strollers and swings, the new generation of babies spend much of their awake time locked into a variety of protective containers -- on their backs.

Time on their stomachs promotes muscle development and helps avoid flat areas on the backs of heads. So regularly get the little tykes out of those convenient containers and get down on the floor with them. The association offers a brochure to show new parents when and how to introduce a variety of healthful positions.

-- Susan Brink

Photo: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Tom]

Finally, someone has the courage to report on the epidemic of developmental delays and epidemic of plagiocephaly since the SIDS prevention "Back to Sleep" Camppaign began in 1992. The most conservative estimate of a rise in plagiocephaly and that is a study written by Persing and co-authored by John Kattwinkel who is Chairperson of the AAP SIDS Task Force. Unfortuntaely, Dr. Kattwinkel had a 3 day old child die in 1966 so he is such a zealot for preventing SIDS that he doesn't let the research that shows an epidemic of develpmental delays caused by the "Back to Sleep" Campaign to see the light of day. I applaud the Los Angeles Times Blog and the APTA for reporting about the increase in developmental delays.

One note about back sleep for infants though is that the reason it seems to reduce the rate of SIDS is because some children are believed to have a brainstem defect which does not allow them to awaken from Stage 3 and Stage 4 NREM Sleep which is also know as Slow Wave Sleep or colloquially as Deep Sleep. But, scientists can't predict which infants have this defect so all parents are told to put their babies on their backs to sleep. But, Stage 3 and Stage 4 NREM sleep is also when it is believed that temporary memories an infant makes during the day are transferred for permanent storage in the neocortex. Increased Tummy Time while a child is awake will not in anyway make up for these infants getting essentially no Stage 3 and Stage 4 NREM sleep during their first year of life. Rafael Pelayo, a sleep researcher at Stanford, has questioned whether this is healthy.

http://tummysleepcentral.blogspot.com/

[Michelle]

My four-year-old daughter has a flat spot on the back/side of her head because of sleeping on her back. She saw a neurologist at six-months old and I was told that it would not affect her brain development and would not really be noticeable once she had more hair. The option to fix it was to put her in an uncomfortable helmet for the next six to eight months. I could not do that to her.
I did a lot of research on SIDS while I was pregnant and after I gave birth. The most convincing explanation I came across, and one that is not given much attention, is that these babies are dying because they are inhaling the toxic chemicals from their mattresses. If they are on their stomachs, they are inhaling them directly, as opposed to being on their backs and breathing the air above them. It makes perfect sense. SIDS is unheard of in countries that do not use mattresses for their babies (i.e. hammocks), and it was never heard of until they started filling mattresses with the toxic chemicals.
A man named Dr. Jim Sprott did extensive research on this and published a book about it. He sells "mattress wraps," which contain the chemicals under a safe plastic barrier. No baby has ever died on a wrapped mattress. I encourage you to check it out.
http://www.thecauseofsids.org/