Group suggests 'workout' to strengthen babies

At 5 months old, Marty Lesner isn't quite ready for aerobics.

But his mom has led him through a daily workout since he was 2 weeks old.

Several times a day, Donna Lesner gives Marty a chance to strengthen the neck, shoulder and arm muscles he'll need to crawl. She props him on the floor with a toy. She burps and soothes him on her lap, tummy down. And instead of carrying him against her shoulder, she cradles him on her arm like a football, allowing Marty to lift his head and gaze out at the world.

The positions are part of "Baby's First Workout," free suggestions developed by the Pathways Awareness Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit that promotes early detection of movement delays. The "tummy time" ideas are available at pathwaysawareness.org.

Supervised exercises like these have become more important now that most babies are sleeping on their backs, a precaution to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, says Garry Gardner, a pediatrician from Darien, Ill., who leads Pathways' medical round table.

The number of babies who sleep on their backs has grown from 13 percent to 73 percent since 1992, when the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended it. Deaths from SIDS have fallen by more than half since then, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Experts agree that sleeping on the back is safest for babies. But more and more infants are now on their backs all day as well, spending hours reclining in car seats, bouncers and strollers. That gives them little chance to raise their heads or perform "mini push-ups" to look around, says Gay Girolami, a physical therapist and member of Pathways' medical board.

Gardner says some of his young patients skip over some milestones, such as rolling over from tummy to back. And more babies are developing flat spots on the back or side of the head, a problem called plagiocephaly, from spending too much time on their backs.

Youngsters who sleep on their backs also tend to achieve major milestones — such as rolling, sitting, crawling and pulling themselves up to stand — later than those who sleep on their stomachs, says Rachel Moon, a SIDS expert at Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

In a new survey of 400 physical and occupational therapists conducted for Pathways, two-thirds say they've seen an increase in movement delays in the past six years.

Moon notes that most back sleepers do catch up with other babies. And even though babies are reaching milestones later, most still fall within the normal range, she says.