Parents often hear about the importance of tummy time, yet overwhelmingly report their babies don’t want to do it! Tummy Time Troubles Solved has tips to help baby enjoy tummy time.

Why Does Your Newborn Need Tummy Time?

Newborns and infants often seem uncomfortable with being placed on their bellies when they’re awake, so why do we do it? Babies spend a LOT of time sleeping. And since it’s been proven that placing babies on their backs to sleep for the first year is one of the best ways to minimize the risk of SIDS, they also spend a LOT of time on their backs. Because of this, we need to give newborns and infants opportunities to exercise their next and shoulder muscles. Stronger muscles = healthier and safer babies. In addition to building neck and shoulder strength, tummy time supports motor development, prevents flat spots (positional plagiocephaly), and helps babies learn to push up, roll and eventually crawl. It’s not just exercise, it’s the foundation for all future movement skills.

So yes, tummy time is your baby’s workout and just like us, sometimes they don’t feel like working out! With slight but important adjustments though, infants can have comfortable, yet productive play and exercise.  

Infant expert Terri Lee Weatherholtz, M.A, CCC-SLP, CDA says: “the time an infant is awake on the floor should consist of 50% back and 50% tummy time.” There’s no exact rules on when to begin tummy time sessions with your baby. Chances are it’s something you and your baby are doing together naturally anyway!

As a guideline however, you can start with 3-5 minute sessions 2-3 days after baby is born, and this is an accepted rule of thumb. As baby grows, tummy time can gradually increase to about 20–30 minutes a day by the time they’re 3 months old. Short, frequent sessions are better than long ones, think “floor time snacks,” not “floor time marathons.”

Tummy Time Troubles Solved – Steps for Success

1. Roll a thin baby blanket (3–4 inches thick) to create a small chest lift.
2. Place baby tummy-down with arms out front and chest resting at nipple level on the blanket.
3. Keep the neck clear of the blanket so weight shifts backward off the tummy.
4. Encourage movement: Use a firm but gentle stroke from the back of the head down to the bottom to activate the neck extensor muscles.
5. Get face-to-face: Lie down on the floor to make eye contact. Smiling and talking help your baby lift their head and build social connection at the same time.
6. Try chest-to-chest: Lying on your back with baby on your chest lets them look “up” at your face—a natural tummy time position for even the youngest infants.

Another way to help tummy time be a fun activity is to lay on your back with baby on your chest, so you’re face to face. With a gentle hold on baby for safety of course, baby will be motivated to look “up” at your face. 

Night Nurse’s Reminder- Always supervise tummy time and use a flat, firm surface instead of a couch or bed to be sure baby is safely positioned.

It’s perfectly fine if tummy time only lasts 5 minutes or less some days.  Eventually continuing the routine a few times a day for longer periods though, helps your baby equate “tummy time” with happy, social time. As always, if your baby consistently dislikes tummy time or shows limited movement or head control after a few weeks, talk to your pediatrician or a pediatric physical therapist.

For answers to more early care questions, visit our newborn care guide, Your First Week Home with Baby: Ultimate Q&A

updated November 1, 2025 –

The umbilical cord and placenta are rich in stem cells that can save lives, and they can be accessed and donated after giving birth. With a little preparation, parents can choose to donate their baby’s cord blood, where it may one day help treat someone with leukemia, sickle cell disease or another serious illness.

What Is Cord Blood?

Cord blood is the blood that remains in your baby’s umbilical cord and placenta after delivery. It’s rich in hematopoietic stem cells, which can regenerate blood and immune systems. These cells are used in transplants for more than 80 diseases, including cancers, blood disorders and immune deficiencies.

Donating Cord Blood

Public cord blood donation is safe, free and helps the most possible people. In order to donate, you must deliver your baby at a participating cord blood collection facility. Once you’ve given consent in advance, a trained professional collects the cord blood after birth. The process is painless, takes just a few minutes and doesn’t interfere with delivery or care.

Here’s how donation typically works:

1. Enroll before 34 weeks of pregnancy. You’ll complete a brief health history and consent form.
2. Deliver at a participating hospital. Public banking programs are most often available at large medical centers and teaching hospitals (check the link above).
3. Collection and testing. After delivery, cord blood is collected, tested for infectious and genetic diseases and stored only if it meets strict safety and quality standards.
4. Added to the national registry. Approved units are listed in the Be The Match® or National Marrow Donor Program registry, available to any compatible patient in need.

Parents should know that if delayed umbilical cord clamping is part of their routine care, or if they choose delayed cord clamping, the volume of their donation would be significantly smaller and possibly not eligible for collection. This is a conversation to have with your primary care physician before birth but either way, labor and delivery will be safe and adhere to the parent’s wishes.

Occasionally a unit doesn’t qualify for transplant use; it may have become un-sterile during the collection process or the donor tested positive for an infectious disease for example. In these cases, the blood may still be used for medical research, helping scientists better understand blood and immune system diseases.

How to Donate Cord Blood – To learn where and how to donate, visit National Marrow Donor Program® and Be The Match® or ask your hospital if they participate in public collection.

In Case You’re Wondering About Private Banking

You may have seen ads suggesting that you “bank” your baby’s cord blood privately for your own family’s future use. Private cord blood banks are for-profit companies that store cord blood for your family only, for an initial processing fee plus annual storage fees. Most experts agree it’s not medically necessary in the vast majority of cases. As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Umbilical Cord Blood Banking states, The routine collection and storage of umbilical cord blood with a private cord blood bank is not supported by the available evidence.

Here’s why:

• A child’s own cord blood can’t be used to treat leukemia or a genetic disease, since it carries the same genetic material.
• Private storage is rarely used in practice, the odds of a family ever needing it are extremely low.
• Public donation is free and can help anyone in need (including you or your baby!) right now.

There are times when private banking may be recommended, such as if a sibling or close relative already has a high-risk pediatric cancer treatable with stem cells, severe blood disorder or immune deficiency or metabolic disorder.

The Bottom Line

• Public donation: Free, evidence-based, saves lives, supported by AAP and ACOG.
• Private banking: Expensive, rarely used, only advisable or families with specific medical needs.
• Cord blood collection is safe and happens after your baby is born.

There are many decisions to make about your birth and immediate postpartum phase. We suggest contacting your hospital to understand their visitor policy, reading Why You Want a Birthing Friendly Hospital and staying updated on evidence-based vaccine guidance. Donating cord blood is one of those quiet, generous acts that can have a life-changing impact for someone you may never meet, but who will never forget your gift.