BABIES as young as a few weeks old will be taught to swim in Bolton.

And they may even be swimming underwater.

The babies will be given half-hour sessions in a swimming pool with the hope that they will develop a natural affinity with water, as well as become strong swimmers.

Nayna Patel, who is running the course, says studies have shown that babies who swim from a young age have improved sleeping and eating patterns and flourish with the focused attention they receive.

She said it gives babies a complete physical work out and helps parents or carers to bond with them.

"It's really never too early to start exercising," she said.

"The first year of a baby's life is crucial in terms of their development - their brain grows more rapidly at this time than at any other - and regular exercise plays a vital role.

"When you consider that every movement they make has a direct effect on strengthening their brain for new learning, you can see how swimming, without constraints of gravity, is so effective.

"It's also very special in that it's the only structured activity you can do with your newborn literally from birth."

Mrs Patel and her husband, Kash, run Water Babies at the Jubilee Pool in Halliwell on Mondays and Thursdays.

The 10-week course begins on January 23.

Mrs Patel, of Lydbrook Close, Bolton, said: "Tiny babies find being in warm water very calming and strangely familiar, having spent their time in the womb suspended in fluid."

She said babies also have two reflexes which can enable them to hold their breath.

The first, the gag reflex, kicks in when water enters the mouth.

The glottis and epiglottis shut, preventing water then entering the trachea and lungs.

The second reflex is the dive reflex which occurs when a baby's face is submerged. This causes the blood to re-distribute oxygen from the non-vital organs to the brain and heart.

Mrs Patel said: "Their natural confidence means they're soon happily floating on the surface and even swimming short distances underwater.

"For a small baby, reliant on others for every aspect of their lives, this can be enormously liberating."

The couple were introduced to the idea of baby swimming when they took their twins, Freya and Ella, to lessons in Bristol, where the couple once lived.

She said: "As they were born five weeks premature, we were obviously very concerned about their development. I'm convinced that regular swimming was one of the key reasons why they caught up so quickly."

The beneficial link between swimming and a child's success in the future has been made by academics.

Sally Goddard Blythe, of the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology in Chester, said: "A child not getting enough stimulation and movement is missing out a piece of the jigsaw important for later functioning.

"Swimming is great. It is easier to have free movement and so it will sometimes give a child the opportunity to develop movements they wouldn't have otherwise."

Call Nayna on 01204 520226 or visit www.waterbabies.co.uk