Understanding Infant Reflexes: A Simple Guide

Suneetha Malkani

Oct 04 2023

<div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><p class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW235508232 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW235508232 BCX0" paraid="1487192783" paraeid="{16a17035-8822-4cc9-b616-089e1fe9b486}{171}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;">Becoming a parent is a journey filled with wonder and discovery. One aspect of this journey is understanding infant reflexes. In this post, we'll break down the basics.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW235508232 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">What Are Infant Reflexes?<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW235508232 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW129275656 BCX0" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Infant reflexes are natural movements that babies make in response to certain stimuli. They are like built-in tools that help babies adapt to their new environment and develop important skills. Here are a few common infant reflexes:<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW145189309 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Rooting Reflex: Gently stroke your baby's cheek or the corner of their mouth, and they'll turn their head in that direction, seeking food.</div></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/yS4yw5gv266.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><p class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW259218540 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW259218540 BCX0" paraid="1973781353" paraeid="{16a17035-8822-4cc9-b616-089e1fe9b486}{209}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;">Grasping Reflex: Place your finger in your baby's palm, and they'll grasp it.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW259218540 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Moro Reflex: Often called the "startle reflex." If your baby is surprised or feels like they're falling, they'll throw their arms and legs out, then bring them back in.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW259218540 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Stepping Reflex: Hold your baby upright and let their feet touch a flat surface, and they might start making little stepping motions.<span class="EOP SCXW259218540 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW120226301 BCX0" paraid="736400662" paraeid="{16a17035-8822-4cc9-b616-089e1fe9b486}{239}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Why Are Infant Reflexes Important?<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">These reflexes are a sign that your baby's nervous system is working as it should. They help babies explore the world and develop important skills, like feeding and grabbing objects. But here's the thing: these reflexes usually don't stick around forever.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">As your baby grows and their nervous system matures, these reflexes will gradually disappear, and intentional, purposeful movements will take their place. It's all part of your baby's development.<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW120226301 BCX0" paraid="151538296" paraeid="{4a37819a-be05-44f0-9a88-366119fef84f}{10}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW120226301 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW259218540 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="EOP SCXW259218540 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/RcMEsgRf267.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><p class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW174097034 BCX0" paraid="505250384" paraeid="{4a37819a-be05-44f0-9a88-366119fef84f}{14}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;">When Do Infant Reflexes Go Away?<span class="EOP SCXW174097034 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> <p class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow: visible; cursor: text; clear: both; position: relative; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW174097034 BCX0" paraid="1830611632" paraeid="{4a37819a-be05-44f0-9a88-366119fef84f}{20}" style="margin-bottom: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Every baby is different, but most of these reflexes start to fade away around the <span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: left bottom; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url('data:image/svg+xml;base64,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')); border-bottom: 1px solid transparent;">3-6 month mark. That's when your baby will start making deliberate movements and becoming more in control of their actions.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">So, when you see your baby doing these reflex moves, remember that it's all part of their normal development. Enjoy these moments because soon, you'llwitness them reaching for toys, rolling over, and taking their first steps – all milestones in their journey of growth.<span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="background-color: transparent; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">Infant reflexes are like nature's way of helping your baby adjust to the world. They're automatic and completely normal. No need to worry or overthink them; just be there to witness these early signs of your baby's growth. <span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-IN" lang="EN-IN" class="TextRun SCXW174097034 BCX0" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="EOP SCXW174097034 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </div>

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