Patent Grant
11896916
This application relates to an infant tummy time kit, more particularly, a kit having a mat having a first fastener on a top surface and a first and a second wedge-shaped supports, each having a fastener releasably connectable to the first fastener and the second wedge-shaped support having a steeper incline than the first wedge-shaped support.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends at least 30 minutes of tummy time per day to provide opportunities to facilitate motor milestone development and to prevent flat spots from developing on infants' heads. Research suggests that many parents are not aware of the tummy time recommendation or the potential complications that can occur from limited tummy time. For example, in a study that included 135 parents, 53% reported that their infants received less than 30 minutes of tummy time a day and 35% were intolerant of the prone position.
Tummy time on a blanket on the floor, as shown in
Thus, there is a need for a tummy time product that will make tummy time a more comfortable, taking the stress off the armpit area and axilla, and providing an enjoyable experience for the baby while promoting motor skill development.
In all aspects, infant tummy time kits are disclosed herein that include a mat having a first fastener fixedly attached to a top surface thereof and a first wedge-shaped support having a second fastener fixedly attached to a bottom surface thereof that is releasably attachable to the first fastener. The first wedge-shaped support has a top surface inclined at a first angle in a range of about 8° to about 20° relative to the bottom surface, has an inward arcuate recess generally centrally in a rear surface, and has two inward arcuate recesses in a front surface. In a top view, one of the two inward arcuate recesses is positioned to the left and the other is position to the right of the peak of the inward arcuate recess. The incline begins at the rear surface and extends to the front surface in a central region of the first wedge-shaped support.
The kit can include a second wedge-shaped support that has a third fastener fixedly attached to a bottom surface thereof and has a top surface inclined at a second angle. The third fastener is releasably attachable to the first fastener, and the second angle is in the range of about 8° to about 20° relative to the bottom surface and is at an angle that is greater than the first angle. The mat can have a fourth fastener fixedly attached to the top surface thereof and positioned a pre-selected distance from a position of a leading edge of the first wedge-shaped support when attached to the mat, and the kit can include a toy support having a fifth fastener fixedly attached to a bottom surface thereof. The fifth fastener is removably attachable to the fourth fastener to attach the toy support to the mat. The toy support has a first major side that can have one or a plurality of connectors fixedly attached thereto that are each connectable to a toy. The toy support can include a non-breakable mirror on an opposite side from the first major side or on the first side. The toy support is attachable to the fourth fastener with either the first major side or the opposite side facing whichever of the first and second wedge-shaped supports is attached to the first fastener.
In some embodiments, the toy support is wedge-shaped, and the first major side is a sloped incline oriented to position a top of the toy support further from the first or second wedge-shaped support, and the opposite side is a vertically upright surface.
In all embodiments, the fasteners can be snaps, hook-and-loop fasteners, magnets, zippers, carabiner clips, and/or strings and laces.
In all embodiments, the wedge-shaped supports each have a removably replaceable jacket thereover and the body comprises a foam material.
In all embodiments, the top surface of each wedge-shaped support is contoured at the leading edge to define a left arm trough and a right arm trough, thereby giving the top surface an undulating contour along the length thereof, the length being oriented transverse to the direction of the incline. Each wedge-shaped support has opposing flanges protruding vertically upward from the top surface running from the leading edge to the trailing edge at positions proximate a left side and a right side, respectively. The opposing flanges are arcuate toward the interior of the top surface and provide crests to the undulating contour thereof.
In one embodiment, the kit includes a spacer removably attachable to the mat at a position to space an infant's legs apart. The leg spacer is generally triangularly-shaped.
In another aspect, a tummy time support for infants is disclosed that has a wedge-shaped support having a flat bottom surface, a top surface inclined at a first angle in a range of about 8° to about 20° relative to the bottom surface, a front side at the peak of the incline, a rear side at the base of the incline. In a top view, the front side has two concave recesses positioned proximate shoulder positions of an infant on its tummy and the rear side has a single elongate concave recess with a peak centered between the two concave recesses in the front side. The top surface is contoured at the leading edge to define a left arm trough and a right arm trough, thereby giving the top surface an undulating contour along the length thereof, the length being oriented transverse to the direction of the incline.
In all aspects, the support has opposing flanges protruding vertically upward from the top surface running from the leading edge to the trailing edge at positions proximate a left side and a right side, respectively. The opposing flanges are arcuate toward the interior of the top surface and provide crests to the undulating contour thereof. The height at the leading edge is in a range of about 1 inch to about 1.5 inches and the height at the trailing edge is in a range of about ¼ inch to about % inch. A width measured at the center of the wedge-shaped support is in a range of about 3 inches to about 4 inches and a length of the wedge-shaped support is in a range of about 12 inches to about 17 inches.
The following detailed description will illustrate the general principles of the invention, examples of which are additionally illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
“About” as used herein means any measurement within a +/−0.5 of the increment specified. For measurements in inches, “about” means within +/−0.25 inch of the increment specified.
Referring generally to
Turning now to
For embodiments, where the first and/or second wedge-shaped support is used without the mat 102, the bottom surface may be a slip resistant fabric or grip fabrics, such as MEGA GRIP™ fabric made by TVF, PVC dotted fabrics, textured neoprene fabric.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The incline of each of the first and second wedge-shaped supports 104, 106 has the highest point of the incline at the leading edge 128, 130, respectively, thereof, which is where the infant's arms and head are positioned when on their tummy. Opposite the leading edges 128, 130 is a trailing edge 129, 131, respectively.
Each of the first and second wedge-shaped supports 104, 106 can have a removably replaceable jacket 120, 124 (sleeve, case, etc.) covering their respective wedge-shaped body 104a, 106a that includes foam defining at least the top surface thereof. Turning now to
Turning now to
Referring now to
Still referring to
The wedge-shaped support body 204 has a height HF at a center point relative to the length L as measured from the bottom surface 222 to the top surface 221 at the leading edge 228 as labeled in
While the foam in
A study was completed with twenty-five infants between the ages of 4 weeks and 24 weeks of age and their parent/legal guardian (18+ yrs. of age). Data collection took place in the participating families' homes via video recording. The infants were between 1 month to 6 months of age with no known sensory, cognitive, or motor impairments as assessed by their parent/legal guardian, no diagnosis of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and weigh at least 10 pounds at the time of the tummy time sessions.
Each infant was evaluated in three positions. A Blanket position which was on their belly on a blanket spread out on a flat surface, such as a floor. See
Infants and their parent/guardian were volunteers that were evaluated to meet the above criteria as well the capability to conduct the video recordings and if interested agreed to participate in the study. Each parent/guardian was asked the same interview questions and completed a tummy time questionnaire. Each parent/guardian was educated on the importance of prone sleeping using the AAP Safe Sleep Guidelines and on supervised, wakeful play in a prone position using a brochure from Pathways Awareness.
The participants were randomized into Groups A, B, and C.
Subsequently, the parents/guardians were instructed to complete three recorded tummy time sessions in the order identified in Table 1 above based on the group to which they were assigned. In each session, the parent was instructed to video-record the infant while positioned in prone in one of the three experimental conditions for at least 5 minutes. The parents were provided with a positioning and recording guide that included directions and example images. A tolerance scale of 0 to 4 points was used to monitor infant tolerance of the position.
Recording of a position was to be conducted only when the infant was at a level 1 on the distress scale. The parent/guardian was provided a positioning and recording guide to refer to during each session. The sessions were to be stopped if, the infant reached level 4 on the tolerance scale, if the infant reaches level 3 on the tolerance scale and cannot be comforted within one minute, if the infant is at level 0 on the tolerance scale, or if the session end because of a diaper change or other unforeseen circumstance. If a session was stopped before the infant spent at least 5 minutes in tummy time, the parent/guardian was asked to implement and video-record that session later the same day or the following day, whichever was more convenient. Each position was allowed to be recorded in smaller increments to equal a total of 5 minutes if the baby does not tolerate an uninterrupted 5-minute session. No more than three days was to pass between each successful recording session.
After the three days were successfully completed, the videos of the sessions were provided to the researcher and a follow-up video conference was held.
Qualitative Evaluation: At the end of each successfully recorded session, the parent/guardian answered the following questions, as applicable. Responses were written, typed, or videorecorded.
Data Analysis: Time spent in prone was measured in seconds. The time spent in prone for the three different positions was concatenated for final analysis. Comparisons were made using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and repeated measures post hoc comparisons were used to detect significant differences between the three different positions. Significance was set at α=0.05. ANOVA is an analysis tool used in statistics that splits an observed aggregate variability found inside a data set into two parts: systematic factors and random factors.
A one-factor within-subjects ANOVA was conducted on n=21 subjects. The design used the inventive position and the C-shaped pillow position as two treatment conditions and the blanket position as the control condition, resulting in a total of three observations per subject. Using the Huynh-Feldt adjustment (ε=0.572) to correct for potential lack of sphericity, the omnibus F test was significant (F(2,40)=8.98, p<0.001), thus warranting a subsequent post hoc analysis. The post hoc analysis was conducted using the Šidák method with a familywise nominal significance of a=0.05. All pairwise comparisons were made among the three means.
The comparison between the inventive position versus C-shaped pillow position (p<0.001) and the inventive position versus the blanket position (p<0.022) were statistically significant. The inventive position resulted in increased head control as compared to the gym and blanket by 28.5 seconds and 19.4 seconds respectively.
According to observers from the study, the infants showed an improvement in propping themselves up on their elbows to look around on the wedge-shaped support body. Also, the observers reported that the toy support with toys and/or mirror kept the infant's interest and placed toys within easy reach. Importantly, the advantages of the wedge-shaped support boy with its incline are promotion of head control, support of the chest without unnecessary pressure on the armpit area, and weight bearing on elbows and hands.
It should be noted that the embodiments are not limited in their application or use to the details of construction and arrangement of parts and steps illustrated in the drawings and description. Features of the illustrative embodiments, constructions, and variants may be implemented or incorporated in other embodiments, constructions, variants, and modifications, and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, the terms and expressions employed herein have been chosen for the purpose of describing the illustrative embodiments of the present invention for the convenience of the reader and are not for the purpose of limiting the invention.
Having described the invention in detail and by reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/129,043, filed Dec. 22, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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|---|---|---|---|
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| 5014376 | Doran | May 1991 | A |
| 5341531 | Straub | Aug 1994 | A |
| 7107639 | Taricani | Sep 2006 | B2 |
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| 20200121253 | López Martínez | Apr 2020 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| Infantino Brand Commercially Available Tummy Time Mats, 4 pages, available at least as of Sep. 25, 2020. |
| Splashin'kids Inflatable Tummy Time mat, pp. 11, available at least as of Sep. 2018. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220193569 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63129043 | Dec 2020 | US |
