Barcroft
A new scheme to get young babies swimming at an early age has produced stunning photography of the water babies in action.
The pictures show babies taking to the water at London Baby Swim in Osterley, West London, a specialist centre that encourages new parents to take their babies swimming as soon as possible, starting at around six weeks old.
"After nine months in a water environment, babies are perfectly prepared to swim from birth," explains Phil Shaw, one of the directors of Baby Swim London Operations.
"Most parents sign their children up for baby swimming because they want them to be safe around water, an obvious choice. Once they start a course they start to discover the other hidden benefits.
"Babies have a natural ability for swimming, having a different reflex that makes them perfect candidates for swimming. Healthy babies are born with extremely sophisticated natural reflexes that protect them from any harm and are very important as they promote their survival.
"At London Baby Swim we work around these reflexes to turn them into deliberate actions. We are very proud to see not only how much the babies enjoy the classes but how they improve their abilities in the water."
The specialist baby adapted pool is such a hit with parents and babies, the owners plan to open the UK's first fully purpose built swim centre in Wandsworth, South London, in the new year, designed only for babies.
The 10,000 gallon pool will be heated to a warm 33 degrees Celsius, and the four foot deep water will take classes of up to eight babies at a time - all performing turns, submersions and floating techniques.
Special UV light is used to keep the water clean and reduce the amount of chlorine used for a pool that is friendly to sensitive babies' skin.
Do you go swimming with your baby?
Have a click through our gallery below to see the stunning photos of the babies underwater.
Reminds us of this famous Nirvana Nevermind cover.