Infant swimming

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Infant swimming is the phenomenon of human babies and toddlers reflexively moving themselves through water and changing their rate of respiration and heart rate in response to being submerged. The slowing of heart rate and breathing is called the bradycardic response. It is not true that babies are born with the ability to swim, though they have primitive reflexes that make it look like they are. Newborns are not old enough to hold their breath intentionally or strong enough to keep their head above water, and cannot swim unassisted. Most infants, though not all, will reflexively hold their breath when submerged to protect their airway and are able to survive immersion in water for short periods of time. Infants can also be taken to swimming lessons. Although this may be done to reduce their risk of drowning, the effects on drowning risk are not robust. Babies can imitate swimming motions and reflexes, but are not yet physically capable of swimming. A submersion of the head may last only...

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