Leaving newborns on their tummies for a few minutes at a time helps prevent their heads from becoming misshapen, a concern if they spend too much time on their backs, new research shows.

Doctors recommend that parents leave infants on their backs to sleep, which significantly reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, babies that spend too much time on their backs may develop skulls that are flattened in the back and widened from side to side, simply from the constant pressure against that part of the head.

This abnormal head shape can be plainly obvious, and very distressing to parents, although it does not harm the brain in any way, Dr. John M. Graham Jr. from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles told Reuters Health.

To prevent it from being an issue, he recommended that parents leave children on their backs to sleep, but place them on their stomachs for 5 to 10 minutes per day around 4 times per day, to take pressure off the back of the skull.

Moreover, leaving infants on their tummies forces them to work their neck muscles in order to try to move their head and learn how to move around in general, which also helps them in the long run, Graham added.

In the Journal of Pediatrics, Graham and his colleagues compare different treatments for babies with misshapen skulls. In this study, the researchers asked parents of infants with misshapen skulls to either shift their heads during sleep or strap their infants into a custom-made plastic helmet.

They found that helmet therapy appeared to correct infants’ head shapes better than repositioning during sleep, and the helmets worked best in younger children.

However, Graham noted that it’s much easier to make sure the problem never occurs. Leaving infants on their tummies for regular bouts of time “prevents the whole thing in the first place,” he said.

It’s important to start so-called “tummy time” right from birth, Graham noted, but parents should stick close to children to make sure they can breathe and are not distressed.

For infants who don’t like being on their tummies, Graham recommended that parents ease them into it, sitting with them and gradually working them up to 5 to 10 minute sessions at a time, he said.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, February 2005.