Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about caring for children. Campaigns to teach parents to put children to sleep on their backs have reduced the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. But infants don’t need to spend all their time on their backs.
Dr. George Lister, chairman of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says infants should always be put to sleep on their backs, and on a firm surface rather than on pillows or blankets. Infants shouldn’t sleep in a bed, chair or sofa with parents. For supervised play time, though, infants should be put on their tummies. That allows them to develop arm, neck and shoulder muscles and is also important for brain development.
Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/patientcare/medicalservices/pediatrics.html to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical service in pediatrics.
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February 2008
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