TRENDING, BUT DANGEROUS: Why Babies Should NOT be Swung Upside Down!

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, with 25 years of clinical pediatric experience, in addition to a graduate level college professor, I cannot even believe I even have to write this!!! But social media and uneducated, non-developmental movement programs are promoting inverting your infant-baby. So, as a developmental expert I feel a strong need to inform parents why this practice is a bad idea.

Hanging your baby upside down is not beneficial and can be truly dangerous. Additionally, tumbling and rolling a baby over their immature necks has also become a trend at some franchises. This is also a dangerous practice that can compromise their neck stability and lead to serious musculoskeletal or neurological injury. There are some sensory-based and chiropractic professionals who believe these intense practices have value, but I am here to tell you the facts. The risks to your baby far outweigh any of the non-evidence-based claims of benefit.

Babies might explore positions like downward dog, but they will only do that when and if they are ready. Babies and toddlers know their limits, so trust them and follow their lead with inversions.

TRUE RISKS OF UPSIDE-DOWN PLAY

Holding, or even worse swinging your baby upside down, especially by the ankles, poses significant risks. and should be strictly avoided.

TEN RISKS OF UPSIDE-DOWN PLAY

1. Cervical Spine Injury: Babies' necks are fragile, and their heads are disproportionately larger than an adult for the size of their bodies. Inversions can damage the cervical spine and cause ligament strain. Pressure on little necks in infant tumbling can risk serious damage.

2. Increased Intracranial Pressure: Keeping a baby upside down causes blood to pool in the head, increasing intracranial pressure, a risk for compromising their developing brains.

3. Vascular Damage: Sudden positional changes, like quick flips, can harm delicate blood vessels, particularly in more vulnerable and premature infants.

4. Vision Loss: A prolonged inverted position puts too much pressure on eyes and can lead to retinal detachment & vision loss if held for too long

5. Joint, Bone and Soft Tissue Injuries: Ankle, knees & hip joints and their surrounding soft tissues are flexible and still developing. Swinging a baby by the legs can cause strains- sprains even subluxation and dislocations at one or more of their joints, as well as placing stress along growth plates. Tumbling too early can compress and compromise babies’ necks and little spines, impacting their developing joints and soft tissue.

6. Vestibular Overstimulation: Inverted swinging overstimulates a baby's vestibular system, potentially causing anxiety instead of soothing them.

7. Respiratory Distress: Being upside down can make it harder for babies to breathe, in part due to the stress response

8. Increase Stress/Elevated Stress Hormones: Unfamiliar and stressful movements can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels, which upsets their idea of safety and might impact bonding and trust between baby & parent

9. Head Trauma: Rapid or uncontrolled movements, such as aggressive swinging, may result in traumatic brain injuries, as infants lack full head control, think of shaken baby syndrome

10. Fall Risk: Swinging increases the likelihood of losing grip, which can result in dangerous falls and even more serious head injury.

FALSE CLAIMS INCLUDE

1. Swinging Baby Upside Down Calms Them & Puts Them to Sleep

   FACT: Inversions are extremely intense. Overstimulation shuts down the nervous system’s natural response. This might be mistaken as calming your nervous system, but it is not the same thing. It is more closely associated with a fight-flight-aka freeze response to an extremely stressful situation.

2. It is Good for Infants’ Vestibular Development

   FACT: It is probably too much, vestibular feedback is the most intense and an inversion the most compromising. There are many gentle safe ways to develop and organize the vestibular system, such as rocking in a rocking chair or bouncing on a birthing ball

3. Babies Like Being Upside Down—> they are upside down in-utero

   FACT: There is nothing to suggest this has any anatomical or evidence-based research to support that theory, babies also live in fluid for 9 months, but this does not mean they breathe or hold their breath for hours under water

Toddlers learn to somersault by 4 years old, there is no 4-month-old that should be practicing that skill. There are no developmental benefits, but there are risks.

There are some rare occasions where an experienced occupational therapist may support a toddler, who is at least 3-years old, for brief gentle inversions, however this is done in a safe way as a therapeutic intervention for a child with specific neurodivergent needs.

A concerning trend has emerged encouraging parents to hang their baby’s upside down or swing them by their legs to soothe them or help them calm or sleep. Fun classes that include tumbling for older kids are now tending for infants and babies. However, all of these practices can be extremely dangerous for infants and babies. To ensure your baby's well-being, always rely on safe, evidence-based methods for soothing, bonding and playing. Try to avoid trendy unproven techniques. Consult a trusted source, like your pediatrician or an experienced pediatric therapist, for advice on safe developmental stimulation and calming strategies.

LOVE & LIGHT xo Rachel

RESEARCH:

Ripa M, Schipa C, Kopsacheilis N, Nomikarios M, Perrotta G, De Rosa C, Aceto P, Sollazzi L, De Rosa P, Motta L. The Impact of Steep Trendelenburg Position on Intraocular Pressure. J Clin Med. 2022 May 18;11(10):2844. doi: 10.3390/jcm11102844. PMID: 35628970; PMCID: PMC9146028.