Tummy time

Tummy time is a colloquialism for placing infants in the prone position while awake and supervised to encourage development of the neck and trunk muscles and prevent skull deformations.

[1][2][3] In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended babies sleep on their backs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Although the rate of SIDS has decreased by 50% since the Safe to Sleep campaign started in 1994,[4] an unintended consequence was that babies missed out on the twelve or so hours they used to spend in the prone position while asleep, and there was a sharp increase in plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) in infants.

[5][6] When babies experience tummy time in their waking hours, they are provided with opportunities to strengthen their neck[7] and trunk muscles.

[1] The World Health Organization advises that infants under one year of age who are not yet mobile should experience tummy time for at least 30 minutes per day across sessions.