Supporting Infant Development Through Tummy Time, Positioning, and Limiting Baby Gear

March 24, 2025 updated by: University of Tennessee

Supporting Infant Development: The Impact of a Tummy Time Intervention on Infant Development

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the impact of an educational intervention on infant motor skill development. The main question it aims to answer is: Question 1) Does exposure to an educational intervention on infant development positively impact infant motor skill development? Researchers will compare the intervention group to the treatment as usual group see if there are differences in infant motor skill development.

The purpose of the proposed study is to determine if tummy time, play positions, screen time, and use of baby gear impacts early motor skill development in children. This is a Pilot study. A Pilot study is a small study that is carried out to collect information that will help in the planning of a larger study with the same topic.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Detailed Description

The purpose of the proposed study is to examine the impact of an educational intervention on infant motor skill development. A variety of factors influence infant development, including the home environment, maternal education, child rearing practices, caregiver handling, sleep position, baby gear use, and positioning during play. In recent years there have been changes in how babies are positioned when awake. For example, after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supine sleep recommendation in 1992, some parents reported not placing their infants on the stomach for play (tummy time) while awake due to a fear of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Research suggests that babies who are not exposed to enough tummy time are at risk for delays in the development of their motor skills.

Devices for infant positioning such as swings, bouncy seats, and carriers have also grown in popularity in recent years. More time in containers limits infant mobility and opportunities for exploration and less time in other positions for play. Many parents are not aware that varying how they handle and position their babies can positively influence development, while others have misconceptions about positioning and baby gear use.

Additional research is needed that examines the impact of avoiding screen time, limiting the use of baby gear, regularly implementing tummy time, and varying an infant's position during play. It is also important that parents are aware of the need to initiate tummy time in the first days of life to increase infant tolerance of the position. The following items will constitute as 'baby gear' and will be utilized to determine if their use impacts early motor skill development in children: infant carrier, swing, bouncy seat, or a stationary activity center. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine if an educational intervention on tummy time, play positions, screen time, and use of baby gear impacts early motor skill development in children.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Tennessee
      • Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38163
        • Recruiting
        • University of Tennessee Health Science Center
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Parent of the infant speaks and reads English
  2. Individual is the parent or legal guardian of the infant.
  3. Infant is 1 month of age or younger
  4. Infant was carried to at least 37-weeks' gestation
  5. Parent must own a cell phone will internet access and Zoom or Face Time capability
  6. Parent must have a working email address.
  7. Parent is over the age of 18 years
  8. Family resides within a 30-min driving distance from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center,
  9. Infant birthweight of at least 2500 g/ 5.5 pounds
  10. Parental report of no know medical condition, health complication or problem since birth
  11. that could have an impact on infant movement behaviors or development.
  12. Parent reports that infant does not have a diagnosis of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
  13. Family does not expect to move from the area within 3 years of enrollment

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Infant is regularly cared for by an adult other than their parent for 20 hours or more per week.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Usual Care Group Receiving an Informational Tummy Time Brochure
Usual care group will receive a brochure on the importance of tummy time and limiting baby gear.
Experimental: Parent Informational Session
Parental education session that includes information and a video on avoiding screen time in the first two years of life, the importance and benefits of infants being exposed to tummy time, varying play positions and limiting time in baby gear. Additional information will be provided on the importance of implementing tummy time during the first month of life as well as different ways to implement tummy time and how to increase infant tolerance to tummy time. Parents in the Parent Informational Session can request a Zoom consultation with the Principal Investigator if the parents have questions or need guidance with implementing tummy time.
Parents will receive a brochure on the importance of tummy time and limiting baby gear and watch a video on the importance of tummy time and limiting baby gear and receive support for implementing tummy time if requested.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in motor scale score on the Bailey Scales of Infant & Toddler Development
Time Frame: 6 months to 48 months of age
Scores range from 40 to 160, with higher scores indicating more advanced development
6 months to 48 months of age

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in fine motor scale score on the Ages & Stages Questionnaire-3
Time Frame: 6 months to 48 months of age
Scores range from 0 to 60 with higher scores indicating more advanced motor development
6 months to 48 months of age

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anne H Zachry, PhD, University of Tennessee

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 17, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 22, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 17, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

May 26, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 28, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2025

Last Verified

February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 23-09209-XP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The investigators are working on a plan to make individual participant data (IPD) available to other researchers.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Supporting data will be available upon the acceptance of the research paper. The data will be available for 6 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

"Access to data can be requested by qualified researchers engaging in independent scientific research, and will be provided following review and approval of a research proposal and Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) and execution of a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA).

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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