The Impact of Aquatic Physiotherapy on the Motor Development of 5-Month-Old Infants: Parental Knowledge, Expectations, and Experiences

Background. Early motor development is one of the most critical and intensive stages in a human’s life, significantly influenced by parents’ age, education, and knowledge. Aim. To assess parents’ knowledge of infant developmental milestones, their expectations and experiences with aquat­ic physiotherapy, and the effect of aquatic physiotherapy on the rolling function of five-month-old infants. Methods. An anonymous 18-question survey was used to assess the knowledge and expectations of parents (n = 65) regarding infant development, the benefits and perceived need for aquatic physiotherapy. The Alberta Infant Motor Scale was used to evaluate the motor skills of infants (n = 33). Results. Parents with higher education, older age, or more children had more knowledge about infant motor develop­ment compared to younger, less-educated parents or those with fewer children. The older the parents, the more they emphasised the importance of motor development and the more likely they were to choose aquatic physiotherapy for their infants. Parents of older infants more often observed improved muscle tone and trunk control, while those with higher education more frequently noticed better social development in their child. The rolling-to-prone function of five-month-old infants who participated in aquatic physiotherapy was rated better compared to those who did not attend such sessions. Conclusions. Older parental age, higher education level, and a larger number of children in the family are statistically significantly associated with better parental knowledge about infant motor development. Compared to younger par­ents, older parents more often emphasise the importance of motor development and are more likely to choose aquatic physiotherapy to support it. Parents with higher education more frequently observe positive changes in their infant’s social development. Parents of older infants are more likely to report improvements in muscle tone and trunk control following aquatic physiotherapy sessions. Aquatic physiotherapy is associated with improved rolling function in in­fants. Keywords: infants; motor development; aquatic physiotherapy; parental knowledge