The sooner you put a baby on his stomach, the better he will be, since lying on his stomach will become part of the daily routine/ShutterStock
You've probably already heard that it's important to lay a baby on your stomach, but do you know why?
And when do we start?
And what does all this have to do with symmetry?
Let's start with the facts.
When a baby is just born, the size of its head is about a quarter of the size of the whole body.
If you lay a newborn on his stomach, you will see that he has difficulty lifting his heavy head, and in order to succeed in the task, he will have to muster all his strength and train every day to achieve the required skill.
The sooner you put a baby on his stomach, the better he will be, since lying on his stomach will become part of the daily routine and each time the effort will bear more fruit.
Since the Ministry of Health recommends not to lay small babies on their stomachs while sleeping, many of them are not exposed to lying on their stomachs even while awake, which causes developmental delays and a lack of functional symmetry.
So why is it important to lay a baby on the stomach?
1. Symmetry
The baby is born without a side preference, so it is important to maintain motor symmetry both in the actions of the baby and in the actions of the parents.
This means that every action that is done on the right side - it is important to do it on the left side as well (lifting the baby on both sides, practicing rolling over on both sides, etc.).
By observing symmetry, you will prevent torticollis, which is a condition in which the positions of the neck and the baby's head are not symmetrical.
There is congenital torticollis as a result of the position in the womb, but there is also acquired torticollis, and in such a situation the baby will prefer to turn his head to one side only regularly due to the imbalance of the neck muscles.
And how does lying on your stomach have anything to do with it?
Good that you asked.
Lying on the stomach allows free movement of the head to both sides, both to the right and to the left.
The baby is free to look at his surroundings and turn his gaze towards a familiar voice (yours of course!).
2. Prevention of flattening of the skull
When babies often lie on their backs, you can see thinning of the hair in the area on which the baby was lying, as well as flattening of the skull.
Lying on your stomach will prevent this.
3. Prevention of developmental-motor retardation
Lifting the head is an initial but critical stage in motor development.
First the baby leans on his hands and these push hard on the surface he is lying on and help the head to rise high.
Later, while sitting down, the center of the body remains in the air (as opposed to lying on the stomach), with the palm pushing the surface contributing to lifting the body in the air.
Even while sitting, the hands are at the sides of the body, supporting and pushing the surface.
While standing, the hands push the ground while the body rises in the air and is carried upwards.
Also in the following motor stages, the skill of pushing the hands formed as a result of lying on the stomach is necessary and critical.
Therefore, it is important that you make sure to lie on your stomach and do not postpone it because you are afraid or because the baby shows signs of discomfort.
Be attentive to him, do it in short rhythms and at times when he is relaxed, but do not neglect the development of this very important skill.
Even in the following motor stages, the skill of pushing the hands formed as a result of lying on the stomach is necessary and critical/ShutterStock
The Jama application was established with the aim of responding to mothers of babies between the ages of birth and three, and to gather for them content, activities, tips from experts and videos that will accompany them throughout this challenging period.
All the content in the application "grows" together with the baby and is precisely adapted to the stages of his development, so that the mothers receive only what is relevant to them and interests them at any given moment.
The Jama app is the place for mothers in Israel to meet and get to know other mothers around them, and to create new and exciting friendships in the fascinating journey.
Search us on Google: https://app.jama.co.il/
Daniel Saranetsky, in collaboration with JAMA
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