Caregivers and infants using a traditional "gahvora" cradling practice in Tajikistan

Does restricted movement in infancy impair motor skills? And if so, do effects persist into early childhood? Researchers have long documented the importance of movement for infant motor development, and clinicians have designed exercise regimens and interventions to promote motor development in infants with disabilities. However, for ethical reasons, the effects of restriction on motor development are largely unexamined. Infants in Central Asia spend large portions of the day swaddled and bound in a “gahvora” cradle, presenting a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of restriction on motor development by exploiting natural variations in cultural practices. We investigated short-term effects of cradling in 182 1- to 24-month-old infants in Tajikistan. Infants showed striking delays in motor skills compared to World Health Organization standards: At 12 months of age, when 97% of infants crawl and 50% walk by WHO standards, only 53% of Tajik infants crawled and none walked. Delays showed a dose-response effect: Infants with longer cradle durations and less time awake unrestricted showed less advanced motor skills.