Pediatrics

When do babies turn?

introduction

Many parents are concerned, especially in the early days, that their baby will not develop properly. In order not to miss anything, it is therefore necessary to attend the U-examinations at the pediatrician. Here the milestones of the baby's development are carefully checked. Of course, one of the things the baby learns is turning around.

The point in time when babies turn can be roughly estimated. Most babies first learn to move their head in a controlled manner, then mostly to turn around and then finally to sit without assistance. Turning from tummy to back and back is usually the first form of transportation for your baby.

Turning around represents a first, albeit small, step towards independence. The incentive is usually a distant toy.

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At the earliest

The timing of the first rotation varies greatly from child to child. Very flexible children manage to turn from the prone position to the supine position as early as about three months.

Turning on your stomach is a more strenuous exercise and requires stronger muscles. Babies usually only manage this when they are five months old.

Previous twists are very rare as the babies' muscles are not yet strong enough. The children train these muscles independently by kicking and moving.

On average

By around four to five months of age, most babies learn to roll from prone to supine position. At six months, half of all babies can perform a turn in the prone position as well as back in the supine position.

However, an average value does not have to be a necessity. Some children just don't want to turn yet because this movement is very tiring. Often an unreachable toy or sibling is the reason for a turn in the prone position, as much can be better achieved from this position.

No later than

There is no at the latest when turning a baby. Most children can turn in either direction by eight months or neither. These motor skills are also checked by the pediatrician in the U5 examination.

Some children simply skip the rotation milestone and start crawling straight away. The pediatrician should rule out that there are physical limitations. If neurological or orthopedic diseases are excluded, the lack of rotation can be accepted.

Different directions of rotation

Turning from stomach to back

The point in time when the baby begins to roll over from tummy to back is approximately between the fifth and seventh months of life. Around the age of five months, the baby is more likely to unintentionally roll out of the prone position to one side while playing. The active and conscious turning around comes later. Turning from stomach to back is often easier to implement and usually precedes turning from back to stomach.

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If the baby is lying on its stomach, it will try to lift its head and support itself on its arms during these months of life. This effort, which seems helpless at the beginning, demands exactly those muscles that the baby needs to be able to turn around. This ability can also be consciously promoted in the baby. The prone position when playing will encourage the baby more and more to lift his head and move his arms towards the toy.Not only will it strengthen the muscles for turning around, but those that will ultimately allow the baby to sit alone and begin to crawl.

If the baby has turned from tummy to back for the first time, this should be reported positively back to the baby. This is achieved by smiling at and praising. Because such a sudden rotation can of course cause a certain uncertainty in the baby. It shouldn't lose the fun of turning around. The movement can be practiced again and again by holding up a toy. At some point the baby will turn around as if it had never done anything else.

Read more on the topic: Development of the child

Turning from your back to your stomach

Between around the fifth and seventh month of life, the baby begins to turn around actively and on its own. Rotating from back to stomach is often more difficult than turning from stomach to back. Usually the baby becomes increasingly agile during this time and, for example, grabs its own feet and rocks back and forth on its back.

These movements promote the muscles that are ultimately necessary for full turning. This requires more muscle strength than switching from the prone position to the supine position. These muscles can be actively promoted when the baby lies on its back and a toy is moved back and forth over the baby. Because it will try to grab the toy. Of course, extreme caution should be exercised during the time the baby is learning to turn around. The baby must always be held tight and must not lie unattended on the changing table or other high places. The newly acquired method of locomotion also involves special precautionary measures.

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Turn on its side

Turning on the side as well as turning from stomach to back or the other way around actively takes place between the ages of five and six months. A previous tilting to the side when playing in the prone position is more likely to happen unintentionally. Turning on its side can be practiced as the baby begins to reach for objects. At this point, it also learns to turn to familiar voices and respond vocalized.

In addition to holding toys in front of them, turning can also be triggered and practiced by simply speaking to the baby. However, some babies completely skip turning around as a means of getting around. They crawl and then drag themselves across the ground and thus reach their destination. Some babies also start sitting or crawling right away. If the baby continues to learn new skills and skip turning around, then there is nothing to worry about.

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Baby only turns one way

A tendency to a certain side can already show in babyhood. This is already a sign of which half of the brain is more pronounced and whether the child will be left-handed or right-handed. So this tendency to turn over only on one side is something completely normal and not a weakness of one side of the body.

The children can often turn on either side, but they find it easier to use the stronger side. After all, adults also write with their strong hand and do not try to specifically train their weak hand.

What can I do if my baby doesn't turn?

The milestones in a child's life are very individual and do not follow an exact plan. Even if parents are eagerly awaiting these milestones, turning late does not automatically mean that the child is sick. Some children do not turn at all and begin crawling before they can turn while lying down.

At the age of six to eight months, the U5 check-up takes place and the child's motor skills are particularly assessed. For children who cannot turn at this age, the pediatrician can carry out or arrange additional examinations so that neurological diseases or orthopedic developmental disorders that prevent the children from turning can be excluded.

If illnesses are ruled out, parents shouldn't worry too much about not turning. Some children just don't want to turn because the movement is unusual and tiring.

In the regular check-ups, attention is still paid to motor development. Differences to other babies do not have to have an illness value and direct comparison makes no sense.

Can I practice turning with my child?

Turning a baby is a milestone that parents are eagerly awaiting. Since some children take their time spinning, some parents want to encourage this move.

Every movement promotes muscle building, which is necessary for initially strenuous movements such as turning. Babies train most movements all by themselves by kicking and moving their arms.

Parents can help the prone position by placing a hand on the child's hip. When the child bends their legs, a turn can be initiated by applying light pressure. Some children then manage to free their arms themselves, but if this does not succeed, the parents should help with this too.

Children who are often placed in the prone position train the necessary muscles faster. Unlike sleeping children, who should absolutely lie on their backs, awake children can regularly be placed on their stomachs.

A toy just out of reach of the baby can also make it more likely to turn, as the prone position offers more opportunities for interaction.

Active training is usually not necessary, as the children learn to move according to their own schedule and some children need longer to turn, but this has no disease value.

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How can I get my baby to turn?

Prone rotation is a way for the baby to see more and develop greater reach. The desire to turn can arise, for example, from an unreachable toy. A toy that is placed just outside of reach and has been played with beforehand can therefore encourage the baby to turn.

Siblings, pets and the parents themselves can also awaken the desire to turn, as the baby wants to get closer to them. Often times, this animation happens by chance and parents cannot say exactly what caused it.

What do motor skills need to make my baby turn?

Many different muscles are required for a twist. Although we do not notice such a rotation as an exertion, this movement is a great strain for a baby.

First, the neck muscles need to be trained and babies need to develop control of their head. The core muscles and arms also need to be strengthened. By leaning on the hands and forearms in the prone position, the muscles are trained and the best conditions are created for later movement. The babies train their abdominal muscles by pulling and kicking their legs.

The movement pattern of the rotation itself is a normal milestone and is achieved by almost all children without specific training. Although the first turns are often random, not only muscle strength but also a drive is necessary for a targeted movement.

This drive for motor milestones is often curiosity and the desire to achieve something or someone. Rotation is one of the gross motor movements and is a preparation for targeted locomotion such as crawling. The babies train the motor skills all by themselves.

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What can I do to keep my baby from turning while sleeping?

The first spin milestone is an eagerly anticipated moment for most parents. Children who have already learned to turn, perform this movement again and again and sometimes turn on their stomachs at night. The prone position as a sleeping position is considered a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome, the cause of which is still unclear.

However, the prone position is not a death sentence, just a risk factor. Children usually have the reflex to turn their head so that their mouth and nose are exposed and breathing is allowed. For this it is important that the mattress is not too soft and that there are no cuddly toys and blankets in the bed.

Parents can practice turning back in the supine position with the child to calm themselves down and make the supine position a habit by always laying the baby on its back to sleep.

Fixation options are not recommended, as movement during sleep is a natural behavior. Monitoring mats for the child's position and vital functions only make sense in individual cases, for example when a sibling has died of sudden infant death.

Special sleep positioners, which are supposed to keep the baby in the supine position, can even increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and should not be used.

Babies turn while they sleep and this behavior is normal and not a death sentence.

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Turning around in the stomach in the birthing position

The turning of the newborn baby around in the abdomen plays an important role in the birth process. A distinction is made between positions of birth that enable natural birth and positions that are impossible to give birth, e.g. make a caesarean section necessary.

During the normal delivery process, the head first moves through different positions. The various positions are described as if one were looking at the mother from below. First of all, the child's head stands across in the pelvic entrance. In obstetrics one speaks of a high transverse stand. That means that the child looks to one side of the mother. A distinction is made between the first and second positions depending on the supine position.

In the first position, the child's back points to the left. So the child looks to the right. Then the child continues to slide head first down towards the pelvic outlet. It makes two 45 ° C rotations one after the other counterclockwise. The head is now straight. In obstetrics one speaks of a deep straight position. From this position the child comes to lie in what is known as the "anterior occipital position". This means that the child looks back and the back of the head is the first to step into the daylight. In addition to this normal birth process, there are various other positions that the child can turn into that can prevent natural birth.

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