Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Association between sleep position and early motor development.

Annette Majnemer1, Ronald G Barr

  • 1School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Department of Neurology, McGill University, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. majnemer@mcgil.ca

The Journal of Pediatrics
|November 11, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bridging the Gap in Early Cerebral Palsy Detection: Primary Care Providers' and Specialists' Perspectives on Implementing PROMPTs for Referral.

Child: care, health and development·2026
Same author

Exploring the barriers and facilitators of implementing family-focused child development programmes in real-world settings: a scoping review.

BMJ paediatrics open·2026
Same author

Parent coaching program for children with emerging developmental disabilities while on a waitlist for services: cost analysis from a family payer perspective.

BMC pediatrics·2026
Same author

Upholding Pluralism in Occupational Therapy: A Response to Recent Calls for Political Alignment.

Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie·2026
Same author

Implementation of a knowledge translation strategy to promote early evidence-based rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy.

Developmental medicine and child neurology·2025
Same author

Occupational Therapy for Children with DCD and Academic Difficulties: A Pan-Canadian Survey.

Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie·2025
Same journal

Standardized Mean Differences Reveal Substantial Selection Bias in Post-Reduction Management of Intussusception.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
Same journal

Parenteral Lipid Dose and Bilirubin Neurotoxicity in Extremely Preterm Infants: A Factorial Randomized Trial.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
Same journal

Refining Oxygen-Carrying Capacity Metrics in Assessing Mortality Risk from Pneumonia in Children.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
Same journal

Time-to-Transfer and Hospitalization Duration for Severe Congenital Heart Defects: Implications for Perinatal Regionalization.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
Same journal

Multimodal neuromonitoring in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and the association with neurodevelopmental outcomes: A Multicenter Study.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
Same journal

KP.2-Adapted BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Effectiveness in Children.

The Journal of pediatrics·2026
See all related articles

Infants sleeping on their backs may show delayed motor skills compared to those sleeping on their stomachs. Awake tummy time is crucial for infant motor development and can influence long-term outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric motor development
  • Infant sleep safety
  • Developmental pediatrics

Background:

  • Infant sleep positioning recommendations have shifted towards supine (back) sleeping to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
  • The impact of sleep positioning on early motor development is an area of ongoing research.
  • Understanding factors influencing motor milestones is critical for early identification of developmental delays.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the motor performance of infants sleeping in prone (stomach) versus supine (back) positions.
  • To investigate the relationship between sleep position and motor development milestones at 4, 6, and 15 months of age.
  • To explore the influence of awake prone positioning on motor skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study involving healthy 4- and 6-month-old infants.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Infants were categorized by sleep position: prone or supine.
  • Motor performance was assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS).
  • Parents maintained positioning diaries, and infants were reassessed at 15 months.

    • Main Results:

    • Infants in the supine group demonstrated lower motor scores at 4 and 6 months compared to the prone group.
    • Supine sleepers were less likely to achieve prone extension and showed significant discrepancies in AIMS and PDMS scores.
    • Motor delays were observed in 22% of supine-sleeping infants, who were also less likely to sit and roll independently.
    • Awake prone positioning was a significant predictor of motor performance in supine-sleeping infants.
    • Sleep position continued to predict motor performance at 15 months.

    Conclusions:

    • Supine sleeping may be associated with early motor lags, potentially due to reduced awake prone time.
    • These findings have implications for interpreting motor assessments in at-risk infants and preventing unnecessary referrals.
    • Extrinsic factors, such as sleep and awake positioning practices, appear to influence the rate of infant motor development.