EFFECTS OF SLEEP POSITION ON INFANT MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Background. As a result of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recomme ndation that healthy infants be placed on their side or back for sleep , the percentage of infants sleeping prone has decreased dramatically. With the increase in supine sleeping, pediatricians have questioned i f there are differences in the rate of acquisition of early motor mile stones between prone and supine sleeping infants. Methods. To examine this question, we performed a prospective, practice-based study of hea lthy term infants. Infants were recruited before the age of 2 months. Parents were asked to record infant sleep position and awake time spen t prone until 6 months of age. A developmental log was used to track m ilestones from birth until the infant was walking. Age of acquisition of eight motor milestones was determined, and the mean ages of milesto ne attainment of prone and supine sleepers were compared. Results. Thr ee hundred fifty-one infants completed the study. Prone sleepers acqui red motor milestones at an earlier age than supine sleepers. There was a significant difference in the age of attainment of rolling prone to supine, tripod sitting, creeping, crawling, and pulling to stand. The re was no significant difference in age when infants walked. Conclusio ns. The pattern of early motor development is affected by sleep positi on. Prone sleepers attain several motor milestones earlier than supine sleepers. However, all infants achieved all milestones within the acc epted normal age range. Pediatricians can use this information to reas sure parents. This difference in milestone attainment is not a reason to abandon the American Academy of Pediatrics' sleep position recommen dations.