title: [Relationship between the prone position and achieving head control at 3 months].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Owing to the significant increase of mild motor delays and the strong intolerance of infants to be placed on prone position observed in the Physiotherapy Unit of the Maternal and Children's University Hospital of the Canaries (HUMIC), a study was conducted to determine whether positioning infants in the prone position while awake affected the achievement and quality of head control at three months.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective comparative practice-based study of a representative sample of 67 healthy infants born in the HUMIC, and divided into an experimental group (n = 35) and control group (n = 32). The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and a parent questionnaire were used as measurement tools. The intervention consisted of regular home visits to the experimental group (from the first to the third month). The two groups were evaluated in their homes at the end of 3 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The differences in mean raw score of the AIMS at 3 months were, 16.26 in the experimental group and 10.38 in control group (P<.001). The percentile mean was 94 in the experimental group, and less than 50 (42) in the control group. All of the experimental group babies achieved the head control, with only 8 in the control group (25%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant findings suggest a direct relationship between the time spent in the prone position when the baby is awake and the achievement of head control at three months.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España. Electronic address: jperez@dcmq.ulpgc.es.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pérez-Machado
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Fuentes
mesh_terms: D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006257:Head / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016684:Prone Position; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: Child development; Comparative study; Desarrollo infantil; Destreza motora; Estudio comparativo; Motor skills; Posición prona; Postura; Posture; Prone position