Place Baby on Back to Sleep - on Belly to Play
Placing your baby on their back to sleep has for many years been the advice given to parents by professionals in an attempt to reduce the risk of cot death. ;As a result of this advice many parents have discouraged their babies from lying on their tummies at all. Consequently a very high proportion of children are now entering adolescence with poor posture which means an even greater number of adults with back pain.
Not encouraging babies to sleep on their tummies, should not be confused with not lying babies on their tummies at all. ;For babies, regular periods spent lying on their tummies provides postural benefits which endure into adulthood. At no other time in life is there such a natural activity which will offer the same advantages. When babies lie on their tummies they develop unique and essential skills as they lift up the head and strengthen the back and neck. When lifting the shoulders they also strengthen the arms and back and stretch open the ribcage. In doing this babies deepen their breathing rhythm which allows for a far greater volume of oxygen for less effort. For the lungs and heart this maximises their efficiency and is of obvious significance to the baby’s health, growth and development.
In lifting the shoulders and opening the chest babies also begin to stretch their abdominal muscles, which allows the tummy to relax more fully. ;Together with a deeper breathing rhythm this creates more digestive ease and helps in the relief of wind, reflux, colic and constipation.
Finally, in this position the baby pushes down on the tummy in order to lift the head, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, legs and feet from the floor in a phenomenal display of effort which strengthens those muscles that support the spine. ;Such strengthening is impossible to achieve at any other time in any other position. ;The head, heart, lungs, liver, arms and legs are all supported by the spine. ;As the central supporting column of the whole body it is vital to create flexibility in the spine and strengthen the muscles that provide its support. ;This vital phase of infant development can only be achieved in the tummy forward position. ;A strong back and a flexible spine promotes all the benefits of good posture; an open healthy chest, a relaxed tummy and a body that is structurally balanced.
Regular daily periods of time spent playing on their tummies is vital to the healthy development of your baby, providing lasting benefits to your child’s breathing, digestion and posture.
Peter Walker - Author
Peter Walker has been a physical therapist and yoga teacher since the late 1970s, and studied active birth, yoga, experiential anatomy and physiology until the mid '80s with Arthur Balaskas, an associate member of RD Laing's Philadelphia Association. From the mid eighties he has worked with new mothers and babies and babies with special needs, teaching, baby massage, postnatal yoga and soft gymnastics for infants and children.
As an associate member of The Active Birth Centre in London for many years, Peter has enjoyed the full support and a close working relationship with its founder member, Janet Balaskas. Similarly Peter worked for many years with The Birth Unit at St. John and Elizabeth's Hospital in West London and has enjoyed a close working relationship with its founder, Dr Yehudi Gordon.
A pioneer of Baby Massage from the 1980s, Peter facilitates workshops and teacher training courses for health visitors, neonatal nurses, midwives and others in the UK and Japan.
Peter’s books, sold in eighteen different languages, include: Baby Gymnastics (Unwin), Baby Relax (Unwin), Going for Gold (Unwin), Natural Parenting (Gaia), The Book of Massage (Gaia), Baby Massage (Piatkus) and The Practical Art of Baby Massage (Carroll and Brown).
A father of five Peter recently relocated to the Gold Coast and with his wife Kerrie is currently setting up a centre to teach mothers/fathers and carers ‘Developmental Baby Massage’ techniques in Mudgeeraba.
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