Question from the Clinician

Abstract

Do infants who sleep on their backs have a tendency to achieve some of the early motor milestones (eg, raising head, chest, arms off bed when prone) more slowly than their counterparts who have slept on their sides or prone? If this is so, I am by no means advocating that parents not be advised about the importance of the supine sleep position. However, I would like some information regarding this query that sometimes arises.Infants who are placed “back to sleep” do achieve these motor milestones at a slightly later age than do prone-sleeping infants. This almost certainly is the result of less time spent in the prone position and may be accentuated by the tendency to place infants supine even when awake. These modest delays have no prognostic significance because infants rapidly “catch up” as they begin to roll and spend more time in the prone position. Recognizing this tendency should prove reassuring to parents, who may be concerned to read of the “typical” ages of acquisition of certain motor milestones.