Objective to evaluate the relationship between the position of feeding in infants and the harmonicity of their motor development.

patients and methods: the study involved 52 healthy children at the age of 10 months. Children were divided into groups depending on the type of feeding and the basic body position during feeding: 34% of children breast fed (group 1) with the location of the child lying on one side most of the time, 33% mixed (group 2) equally on the side and half-sitting, 33% bottle feeding (group 3) – half-sitting on the arms of their mothers. Children in these groups did not differ significantly in weight and growth.

Harmonicity of motor development was measured according to the Scale of early motor development (SED), created in our Centre. This Scale is based on the principles and points of V. Vojta motor ontogenesis. According to the SED, the maximum score of motor development at 10 months is 26 points. Motor skills of the infants were measured by a physiotherapist.

Results The medians of the SED scores in the groups were: Me₁=25, Me₂=23, Me₃=22. In the group of the infants with natural feeding we observed the most harmonious motor development, which could be due to the baby’s position during the feeding.

Conclusions Position of the baby during the natural feeding creates favourable conditions for the realisation of the physiological motor development and could be recommended for the use during mixed and bottle feeding.