Rolling over in infants: age, ethnicity, and cultural differences.
A preliminary cross-sectional study of 72 Hong Kong Chinese infants suggested that these infants learn to roll from supine-to-prone before rolling from prone-to-supine i.e. the opposite to teaching in most western texts. Three-hundred and sixty mothers were recruited postpartum and asked to record, on a chart, information related to the developmental milestone of rolling over for their infants (49% male) during the next 9 months. Telephone reminders were given at 4 and 8 months and, by the end of the study, information had been obtained from 240 mothers (67% of original sample, 51% male infants). Mean ages of rolling over were 5.1 months (SD1.5) for supine-to-prone and 5.7 months (SD1.3) for prone-to-supine. Age of rolling over from supine-to-prone was not influenced by usual sleep position, infant's sex, mother's intention to breastfeed infant, number of siblings, marital status, main daytime caregiver, or feeding method over 9 months. Hong Kong Chinese infants roll from supine-to-prone before they roll from prone-to-supine.
Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 6/F Clinical Science Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China. tony-nelson@cuhk.edu.hk
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D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D016684:Prone Position; D016683:Supine Position