There they would lie, snuggled into the sweet-smelling sheets, heads turned gently to one side or another, with a soft, sweet smile that would from time to time break into lip-pursing and sucking movements.

That position, used popularly since the 1960s, placing babies on their tummies for sleep, was the most common one used at that time by parents after their new infants came home from the hospital. My babies were happy with it, I was happy with it, and my babies’ granny was happy with it.

Then, by the 1990s, as reported by a 1993 article in The New York Times, a change was afoot. Evidence had begun to mount that seemed to indicate that babies who sleep face down are at greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or “crib death”) than those who sleep on their backs or sides, and parents were advised to place their children to sleep on their backs for safety.

Now, an August, 2008, article in ScienceDaily, reports that the American Physical Therapy Association is urging parents and caregivers to give babies supervised ”tummy time” throughout the day to avoid motor delays that may accompany lack of “tummy time” i.e., time infants spend lying on their stomachs while awake. The article includes many ways to increase “tummy time” with an awake infant, and includes a link to an excellent brochure, Tummy Time Tools.

While SIDS is still a mystery–with infants continuing to die of crib death, whether sleeping prone or on their backs–at this time and until we hear otherwise, we should place babies on their backs for sleep unless told otherwise by our child’s own pediatrician. In the meantime, you and your baby might enjoy a little fun, awake tummy time!