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Longitudinal associations between infant tummy time and development

Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: National and international guidelines recommend tummy time as a form of physical activity for infants who are not yet mobile but evidence gaps exist. Purpose: Examine the longitudinal associations of tummy time with development and the acquisition of gross motor milestones in the first 18 months of life. Methods: Participants were 411 parents of infants from the Early Movers project in Edmonton, Canada. Tummy time was measured using a questionnaire and the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) developmental screening tool was administered at 2, 4, and 6 months. In a subsample (n=127), tummy time was measured using a time-use diary at the same time points and gross motor development was assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) at 6 months. Parents reported when six major gross motor milestones were acquired according to World Health Organization criteria. Linear mixed models were conducted. Results: Higher questionnaire and time-use diary measures of tummy time overtime were significantly associated with higher ASQ-3 and AIMS scores as well as earlier acquisition of crawling, independent standing and walking milestones. Higher tummy time, as measured by the questionnaire, was also significantly associated with better personal-social development and earlier acquisition of independent sitting and assisted standing and walking milestones. Conclusions: Tummy time in the first 6 months of life was consistently associated with more advanced gross motor development. Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation through the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute, and the University of Alberta.
DOI: 10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.693
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W6904774463
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