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Babys' spinal development |
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When a baby is born its spine is at first convex in throughput. The adult curves, which develop in infancy, are concave in the mid back and concave again in the low back. It is important these curves are allowed to devlop properly and for this nothing should interfere with the natural process of learning to turn over, sit up, crawl and stand by oneself.
The first curve develops when the chills, lying on its tummy, trys to raise the head, strengthening the muscles at the back of the neck. As it lies on its belly and then begins to crawl, the hip joints start to straighten and the muscles of the low back pull the spine into a concavity. This process proceeds as the child starts to stand and walk.
Baby walkers reduce the amount of time the baby spends going through this process and so may lead to poor spinal muscle and spinal curve development and possible dyscoordination in spinal movement. They should always be avoided. Baby bouncers are even worse, as the also put vertical compression on tissues not yet mature enough to support them.
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