Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Jan Stube

Keywords

Child Development; Head -- growth & development; Infant

Abstract

Parents that do not provide their babies with a variety of proper body positions throughout everyday activities may increase their infant's risk for motor development problems and abnormal head shaping. The purpose of this scholarly project was to create parental educational materials in order to increase parent awareness and prevention of common problems due to lack of proper infant positioning in everyday activities.

The methodology used was an extensive research literature review, review of current professional resources on this topic, and this therapist's clinical expertise. The clinical products developed from this evidence included: A parental Developmental Care Guide which is a complete informational booklet; an abridged Back to the Basics brochure emphasizing "Tummy Time" in the daily care routine; and a parental educational session on positioning and infant development presented in Microsoft® Powerpoint® format with an accompanying outcome evaluation survey of the educational benefits.

Proper body positioning during an infant's everyday activities can support development, including head symmetry. With the "Back to Sleep Campaign" endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), it is important to provide a variety of other body positions throughout the day when the baby is awake and engaged in infant occupations such as feeding and playing.

The desired result of this scholarly project is to increase parental awareness of the importance of positioning and its effect on supporting normal infant development and head shaping. The parent educational materials (quick reference/detailed guide, power point presentation, and evaluation) developed through this scholarly project will be provided within the hospital and day care settings to promote the infant motor development and head shaping as related to the infant daily care routine.

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