Correction of the baby's abdomen using the grandmother's method. Support reflex and automatic gait in newborns. Chain righting reflex

How is the neonatal period determined, what is its duration? It is scientifically proven that this period lasts 28 days, during which time the child’s primary adaptation to the environment occurs. The adaptation is helped by the reflexes of a newborn; these are mechanisms inherent in nature that allow the baby to perform its first (yet unconscious) actions.

Types of reflexes - classification

There are 2 types of reflexes - conditioned and unconditioned; in infancy, only unconditioned ones work, laid down from birth. Conditional ones appear later, based on experience.

In total there are 15 unconditioned reflexes newborns, each of them has its own purpose. Some arise and immediately disappear, others fade slowly, and others remain forever.

There are several groups of basic reflexes of newborns:

Aimed at ensuring general vital functions (breathing, swallowing, sucking, spinal motor automatisms).
Providing security for child's body when exposed to external stimuli.
“Temporary” ones that work to maintain a single process. For example, there is a reflexive holding of breath so that the child can move through the birth canal.

Table of basic reflexes of newborns by month

Oral reflexes

From the very first minutes of life, a small organism needs nutrition. Nobody teaches a baby to suck milk from the breast and swallow; everything is based on reflex activity.

Sucking reflex The baby has had it since birth. Thanks to it, the baby is able to clasp the nipple or pacifier with his lips and make rhythmic sucking movements. The reflex is strongly expressed up to a year, which is consistent with the appearance of the main teeth, with the help of which sucking is replaced by chewing.

Up to 3 years it persists mildly. The intensity of sucking signals the degree of hunger of the baby; if the child is full, then the sucking becomes weaker and is more pronounced before eating. The constant weakness of the sucking reflex is caused by many reasons, which can be determined with the help of a doctor.

Swallowing reflex promotes the swallowing of food received. It is caused by the work of the medulla oblongata and persists for life.

Proboscis reflex less preserved long time– by two to three months it disappears. Touching the baby's lips with a finger or object causes the mouth to curl into a tube resembling a small trunk.

Babkin reflex, it is also called palm-oral. If you lightly press on both palms of the child, the baby opens his mouth. By three months the reaction fades away, after which it disappears completely.

Search reflex (Kussmaul) . An attempt to touch the cheek at the corner of the mouth (very lightly) leads to a search for a stimulus, that is, a search for food. After three months the reflex passes, the baby determines the food source visually. When checking it, you should not touch the baby’s lips directly, otherwise you will get a proboscis reflex.

Spinal automatisms

Spinal reflexes Newborns are characterized by the baby’s muscular system and its condition.

Defense reflex is detected by turning the head when placing crumbs on the stomach. In this way, the child opens up air access to his Airways. When the central nervous system is damaged, this reflex is usually absent.

Grasp (monkey) reflex – the ability to firmly grasp and hold the fingers of an adult placed in the palms of a baby. Lifting by the fingers is another similar Robinson reflex. Weakening occurs by four months.

- this is when, when stroking the soles, the toes open in a fan-shaped manner, and the feet bend on the back side.

Newborn reflexes - Plantar reflex (Babinski)

This reflex is preserved up to two years; the symmetry of the reaction and energy are indicators for assessing the child.

Moro reflex (hug) - a reaction consisting of two phases, occurring in response to noise or knocking.

At first, the baby spreads his arms in different sides and unclenches his fingers, while his legs straighten. Then the arms and legs return to their original position, reminiscent of a hug. This reflex is observed up to five months. Incomplete Moro reflex or its asymmetry appears with lesions nervous system.

Kernig reflex observed when it is not possible to unclench the hip joint after flexion. Upon reaching four months disappears completely.

Automatic walking reflex checked with support from the armpits and a slight bend forward. The baby takes steps without accompanying them with hand movements. Normally, the baby should rest on the entire foot and walk without clinging.

If the legs cross slightly, then this is considered acceptable in the first 1.5 months. The ability to walk independently is an already acquired skill, conditioned complex work cerebral cortex, develops by 1 year. If the “automatic gait” remains for a long time, then this may be a manifestation of damage to the central nervous system.

Support reflex visible when the baby is held and placed on hard surface. First he pushes his feet away, then he flattens out, pressing his tiny soles firmly against the ground. During the entire month and a half, the support and walking reflexes are well expressed.

Crawling reflex (Bauer) – it is called spontaneous crawling, this happens when the baby is placed on his stomach or back. The movements intensify if you place your palm on the child’s soles, the baby can even move forward. The reflex appears on days 3-4, and fades away on third fourth month. A warning sign a violation of symmetry or persistence of crawling movements for up to six months to a year is considered.

Galant reflex called the response of the spinal zone to an external stimulus. If you move your finger along the back, the child will arch his back and straighten his leg on the side of the influence.

Posotonic reflexes (automatisms)

This group of reflexes is based on the redistribution of muscle tone as the child develops motor skills. While the baby still cannot hold his head up, cannot sit, walk or stand, his muscles must be regulated. The medulla oblongata and subsequently the midbrain are responsible for regulation.

Magnus-Klein reflex (asymmetrical tonic cervical) - the baby takes the “fencing pose” if his head is turned to the side while the little one is on his back. That is, the limbs towards which the face is facing are extended, and the opposite ones are bent.

Name	How to stimulate	Response to stimulus	Appearance (age)	Disappearance (age)	Reasons for deviations
Search	Stroking the cheek	Turning the head towards the stimulus, opening the mouth	From birth	3-4 months (in sleep up to 12 months)	Lethargy, depression of the nervous system. cerebral palsy
Sucking	Touching lips or mouth	Sucking movements	From birth	4 month (in sleep up to 7 months)	A well-fed person reacts poorly. Prematurity, CNS depression - absence
Cervical tonic (“fencer”)	While the baby is on his back, turn his head to the side	Straightening the arms and legs from the side of the turned head; on the opposite side the arm and leg are bent	Birth – 2 months	4-6 month	Inability to get out of this state or persistence from 6 months - violations of motor neurons
Prehensile	Place your finger in the child's palm	Firmly grasping the fingers with both palms	From birth	3-6 month	CNS lesions
Stepping reflex	Support under the arms, slight forward bend. Feet should touch the surface	Similarity of steps, alternating movements of the legs	From birth	2-4 month	Absence: cerebral palsy, leg paralysis, child depression
Reflex Moro (hug)	Sudden sound or popping sound when baby is lying on his back	Symmetrical opening of the arms and straightening of the legs, after a few seconds wrapping your arms around yourself	From birth	Up to 4 months	Paralysis or fracture of the clavicle leads to asymmetry, absence or long action - disorders of brain structures
Plantar reflex	Pressure at the toes	Symmetrical finger tuck	From birth	4-8 month	Cerebral palsy, brain damage
Babinski reflex	Move along the sole to the toes from the heel	Opening your fingers in a fan shape	From birth	By about a year	Cerebral palsy, central nervous system lesions

Checking the severity of reflexes is carried out with the help of a neurologist and pediatrician; they are able to determine how correctly the functions of the baby’s nervous system are functioning.

What influences the untimely appearance of reflexes in newborns?

The reasons are completely different, ranging from trauma during childbirth to individual reactions to medical supplies. Spinal or oral reflexes of a newborn are weak in cases of prematurity or mild asphyxia.

It is not always necessary to sound the alarm, if sucking and searching behavior is weakly expressed, perhaps the baby is simply full, then he does not show strong reflex activity. But before feeding, on the contrary, sucking and searching intensify.

If the newborn’s reflexes are not observed at all, then this is a reason for immediate qualified medical care. The most important life support functions may suffer if the baby’s health is not maintained in a timely manner. There may be several reasons: severe vices intrauterine development, severe asphyxia, injuries received during childbirth.

Of course, parents should have information about innate reflexes, but only an experienced neonatologist or pediatrician can professionally assess the child’s health. Deviations from the norm can be significant or not very significant; for minor violations, the doctor will prescribe treatment or special procedures. If the deviations are severe, then the doctor will help to understand the reasons and will be able to take emergency measures to ensure that the baby is not in danger.

Any strange manifestation child behavior requires increased attention, because his successful adaptation to the world depends on this. The reflexes of a newborn are the care of nature itself so that the baby can feel as comfortable as possible.

At the birth of a child, every mother asks herself the question: is my baby healthy and is it developing correctly?

Nature gives every person unconditioned reflexes, manifested as a reaction to various external stimuli. Some of them remain for life (swallowing, blinking, contraction of a tendon when struck with a hammer), while other reflexes appear only in the first months of life.

Reflexes of newborns characterize the full functioning of the central nervous system. Later, thanks to life experience, the little man acquires conditioned reflexes.

We determine the reflexes of a newborn ourselves

Each mother observed how the pediatrician performed certain manipulations with the baby, and then made a conclusion about the baby’s health in terms of psychomotor development.

This is not difficult to do at home, you just need to know what reflexes a newborn should have and how to check them. Don't be afraid of unclear names. Mothers, without even knowing it, are daily faced with the unconditional reaction of their baby to certain manipulations.

Reflex reactions of newborns are divided into oral (providing sucking) and spinal (motor).

Oral reflexes :

Sucking reflex

All women who have given birth know that immediately after the birth of the baby, the doctor applies it to mother's breast. In this way, the main and most important of the unconditioned reflexes of newborns is tested - reflexive sucking. Further, if any object (pacifier or finger) gets into the baby’s mouth, he begins to intensively reproduce the same movements with his mouth and tongue, as when sucking his mother’s breast. The sucking reflex lasts up to 1 year, in some children it manifests itself for a longer period.

Proboscis reflex

The picture is touching when the mother touches the corner of the child’s mouth with her finger (without touching the lips), and the child in response folds his lips into a tube (proboscis). This happens due to involuntary contraction the baby's mouth muscles to an external stimulus. The reflex can be observed for up to 3 months.

Kussmaul reflex (search)

In continuation of the above-mentioned reflexes of newborns, the baby, when touched by a finger to the corner of its mouth, begins to intensively search for the mother's breast. The child opens his mouth slightly and reaches for his mother’s finger. This reflex is observed only up to 3-5 months.

Babkin reflex

It is even more interesting to observe when, with light pressure with a finger on the baby’s palm, he begins to reach out to the person performing the manipulation, while opening his mouth. The baby exhibits a similar reaction in the first 2-3 months of life.

Spinal reflexes :

Defense reflex

It appears already in the first hours of life and is characterized by turning the baby’s head to one side when laying him on his tummy. Thus nature protected little man from lack of oxygen in an uncomfortable position for him.

Monkey reflex (grasping)

Be sure that if the baby grabs something with his small hand, it will be quite difficult to unhook it. This reflex makes humans similar to mammals, whose young cling very tightly to their mother.

Robinson reflex

Continuing the theme of the “tenacious grip,” you can test another reflex: a baby caught in the mother’s fingers can be lifted into the air without fear that it will come unstuck.

Bauer reflex (crawling)

A little person comes into life already able to crawl. It is quite simple to check: lying on his tummy or on his back, the child makes spontaneous crawling movements. And when you put your hand on your feet, the baby will try to push off with your legs from the support that appears. The reflex appears on the 3-4th day of life and fades away only by 4 months.

Support reflex

Being in vertical position and touching a hard surface with its legs, the baby should straighten its legs, and if it tilts slightly, it will try to step over. It turns out that all people subconsciously know how to walk from the moment of birth.

Galant reflex

The reaction of a newborn to holding a finger 1-1.5 cm from the spine is very similar to the fact that the baby is afraid of tickling. Its back begins to bend in the direction along which you ran your finger.

Moro reflex (hug)

When clapping on the bed next to the baby's head, the baby first spreads his arms to the sides, unclenching his fists, and then hugs his body. This is observed up to 4-5 months.

Babinski reflex

When you lightly press on the baby's foot near the II-III toes, the child will bend his toes. And if you run your finger along the outer edge of the foot in the direction from the heel to the toes, then the baby should fan out all his toes on the foot.

Perez reflex

Testing this reflex is the least pleasant of all the physiological reflexes of a newborn, so pediatricians prefer to test it at the very end. The pediatrician, pressing lightly, runs his finger from bottom to top along the spinous processes of the spine. At the same time, the baby arches, raises his head, bends his legs and arms, cries and may even wet himself.

Important: of all the reflexes of a newborn, the search reflex can weaken at 1 month. This is normal, the reflex completely disappears by 1 year.

Unconditioned reflexes: strengthening or lack of reaction

All reflex reactions of babies should be symmetrical. Strengthening of reflexes may be the result of excessive excitability of the nervous tissue. With weak reflexes with a slight change in the strength of the reaction, gymnastics and daily bathing are quite enough.

Particular attention should be paid to the absence of some reflexes. The reasons for this may be:

serious disturbances in the tone of certain muscle groups;
pathological conditions nervous system;
infectious diseases.

Important: weak reflexes are often observed in premature babies. However, when good nutrition And proper care, reflex reactions are restored.

In the absence of a sucking reflex, the life of an infant is in serious danger. In this case, it is urgent to contact a pediatric neurologist, who will prescribe a full examination and necessary treatment.

So, regular check innate reflexes with your baby, it can not only become a favorite entertainment for the whole family, but also serve as gymnastics for the child, and at the same time confirm that your baby is developing normally.

Innate reflexes- a gift of nature, necessary for the baby for survival outside the body of the mother, which help the newborn in adapting to life in the world around him.

Also in maternity hospital, immediately after the birth of the baby, the neonatologist checks the congenital reflexes and evaluates the development of the nervous system. If physiological reflexes are well developed and muscle tone is normal, which means the child is fine.

A healthy baby at birth should have a complete set of physiological reflexes, which disappear by 3-4 months.

Pathology is their absence, as well as a delay in their reverse development.

It is unacceptable to stimulate the reflexes of the newborn, especially the automatic walking reflex.

Basic unconditioned reflexes of newborns

1 Breathing reflex

The first, immediately after birth, the respiratory reflex is activated - the baby's lungs open and he takes his first independent breath.

2. Sucking reflex

The sucking reflex occurs in a newborn in response to irritation of the oral cavity, when the lips and tongue of the newborn are touched. For example, when putting a nipple, nipple, finger into the mouth, rhythmic sucking movements appear.

The sucking reflex is present in all healthy newborns and is a reflection of the child’s maturity. After feeding, this reflex fades to a large extent and after half an hour or an hour begins to revive again. The reflex persists during the first year of life. The sucking reflex decreases or even disappears if any of the cranial nerves involved in the act of sucking are damaged. Sucking calms the baby. If he did not nurse in infancy, then at an older age he may begin to suck the ends of his hair or fingers, or bite his nails, which will require the intervention of a psychotherapist or neurologist.

3. Swallowing reflex If something gets into the baby's mouth, he swallows. During the first days, the child learns to coordinate breathing movements with swallowing movements.

4. Gag reflex. The reflex causes the child to push any solid objects out of his mouth with his tongue. The gag reflex appears immediately after birth. The reflex prevents the child from choking. This reflex fades away closer to 6 months. It is the gag reflex that explains why it is so difficult for a baby up to 6 months to swallow solid food.

5. Searching (seeking) Kussmaul reflex

The reflex should be evoked carefully without causing pain to the newborn.

Stroking with a finger in the corner of the mouth (without touching the lips) causes the newborn to lower the corner of the mouth and lips, lick the mouth and turn the head in the direction from which the stroke is performed.

Pressing on the middle upper lip causes a reflex raising of the upper lip upward and extension of the head.

Touching the middle lower lip causes the lip to drop, the mouth opens, and the baby's head produces a flexion motion.

With pain irritation, only the head turns in the opposite direction.

The search reflex helps the baby find the nipple and is well expressed before feeding.

Normally, it is caused in all newborns and should completely disappear by 3 months of age. Then there is a reaction to a visual stimulus, the child comes to life at the sight of a bottle of milk, when the mother prepares the breast for feeding.

The search reflex is the basis for the formation of many mimic (expressive) movements: shaking the head, smiling.

The search reflex is absent or reduced, asymmetrical in newborns with damage to the facial nerve. In the presence of cerebral pathology in newborns, the reflex may be delayed and does not disappear by 3 months of age

1 - palmar-oral;
2 - proboscis;
3 - search;
4 - sucking

6. Proboscis reflex (oral Escherich reflex)

Called fast light touch with a finger, pacifier or hammer on the baby's upper lip - in response, the newborn's facial muscles contract - the lips stretch out in the form of a proboscis.

Normally, the proboscis reflex is detected in all healthy newborns, and gradually fades away by the age of three months. The preservation of the proboscis reflex in children over three months of age is a sign possible pathology of the brain and is observed in children with damage to the nervous system.

7. Babkin palmar-oral reflex

When pressed thumb on the palm of the newborn, the baby turns its head and opens its mouth.

The reflex is present normally in all newborns, and is more pronounced before feeding. After two months, this reflex decreases, and by three months it disappears completely.

Sluggishness of the reflex is observed with damage to the central nervous system (CNS), especially with birth injury of the cervical spinal cord.

The rapid formation of the reflex and its extinction up to 3 months is a prognostically favorable sign in children who have undergone birth trauma.

The palmar-oral reflex may be absent with peripheral paresis of the arm on the affected side. When the central nervous system is damaged in a child older than 2 months, the reflex does not tend to fade, but, on the contrary, intensifies and occurs even when the palms of passive hands are lightly touched.

8. Upper grasping reflex (Yanishevsky)

In response to a stroked touch on the palm of the newborn, the fingers bend and the object is grasped into a fist.

In a normal infant, the grasping reflex is well evoked. Before feeding and during eating, the grasping reflex is much more pronounced.

The reflex is physiological until 3-4 months; later, on the basis of the grasping reflex, voluntary grasping of objects is gradually formed.

In inhibited children, the reaction is also weakened; in excitable children, on the contrary, it is enhanced.

A decrease in the grasping reflex is observed in children born in asphyxia. And also the reflex is weakened on the affected side of the cervical spinal cord. With paresis of the hands, the reflex is weakened or absent. The presence of a reflex after 4-5 months indicates damage to the nervous system.

9. Robinson suspension reflex

In response to stroking the palmar side of the hand, the fingers bend and grasp the object. Sometimes, when this reflex is evoked, the child holds an object or finger so tightly that such a clinging child can be lifted upward by the fingers - this phase of the reflex is called the Robinson reflex. Thus, it turns out that a newborn, outwardly seeming to be a completely helpless creature, can develop such “muscular strength” in its hands that it holds it own body in limbo.

By 3-4 months, this unconditioned reflex transforms into a conditioned one - the child begins to grab toys purposefully. Good expression of the grasping reflex and the Robinson reflex contributes to the rapid development conditioned reflex and thereby - the development of muscle strength in the hands and contributes to the faster development of fine manual skill.

10. Lower grasping reflex (plantar, Babinski reflex)

It is caused by pressing with the thumb on the sole at the base of the II-III toes. The child performs plantar flexion of the toes (presses the toes to the foot)

Pressing the ball of the foot with the thumb causes plantar flexion of the toes.

In healthy children, this reflex persists up to 12-14 months of life.

The absence of the lower grasp reflex occurs when the spinal cord is damaged at the lumbar level.

11. Babinski reflex.

If you make a line irritation of the sole along the outer edge of the foot in the direction from the heel to the toes, then dorsal extension occurs thumb feet and fan-shaped divergence of the II-V fingers.

Most doctors now consider the Babinski reflex to be normal for the first year of life and that its presence is not a sign of pathology, and it will go away with age. They explain that this is due to insufficient development cerebral cortex and, accordingly, the central motor neuron system in early childhood and that this reflex is now very common.

We want to warn parents.

Healthy newborns should NOT have the Babinski reflex.

The Babinski reflex is pathological from the first days of a child’s life and is subtle sign pathology of the pyramidal tracts, and the frequency of its detection is not proof of its physiology, but proof of the frequency of neurological disorders in newborns. Especially if this reflex is spontaneous from birth (that is, it does not need to be called, it appeared on its own)

12. Arshavsky’s heel reflex

When pressure is applied to the heel bone, the child causes a cry or crying grimace.

Their absence, decreased severity, or asymmetry may indicate damage to the nervous system.

13. Moro reaching reflex

It is caused by various techniques: if you unexpectedly slap both hands on both sides on the surface on which the child is lying, at a distance of 15 cm from his head (no need to hit with all your might!), then the newborn moves his arms to the sides and opens his fists - phase I of the reflex Moro. After a few seconds, the hands return to their original position (fetal position) - phase II of the Moro reflex.

A similar movement in the hands occurs with passive sudden extension (extension) of the newborn’s legs, lifting the baby’s unbent legs and pelvis above the bed, and pressing on the hips.

The reflex is expressed immediately after birth. In all healthy newborns, the Moro reflex is always symmetrical (the same) in both hands and is expressed until the 4-5th month, then it begins to fade; after the 5th month, only individual components can be observed.

With flaccid paresis of the arm, the reflex is reduced or completely absent on the affected side, which indicates that the spinal cord in the cervical region was injured during childbirth. In children with intracranial trauma, the reflex may be absent in the first days of life. With severe hypertension, there is an incomplete Moro reflex: the newborn only slightly withdraws his arms.

In each case, the threshold of the Moro reflex should be determined - low or high. U infants with damage to the central nervous system, the Moro reflex is delayed for a long time, has a low threshold, and often occurs spontaneously with anxiety or various manipulations. If the reflex appears when trying to change the child’s clothes or for no reason, then it should be shown to a neurologist.

14. Galant reflex

The child is placed face down, with his chest on his palm. Supporting the baby in weight (when the baby calms down and hangs his head, arms and legs completely), run a finger along the spine (at a distance of 1 cm from it) with right side- the baby will bend in an arc and press his right leg. The reflex is also checked on the left side.

The Galant reflex is well evoked from the 5th to 6th day of life. Normally, the reflex lasts up to 2-4 months and disappears after 6 months.

The reaction on both sides should be the same.

In children with damage to the nervous system, it may be weakened or completely absent during the 1st month of life. When the spinal cord is damaged, the reflex is absent for a long time. If the nervous system is damaged, this reaction can be observed in the second half of the year and later.

1.Galanta reflex
2.Perez reflex
3. Moro grasping reflex

15. Perez reflex

The child is placed face down, with his chest on his palm. Supporting the baby in weight (when the baby calms down and hangs his head, arms and legs completely), with light pressure, run your finger along the spinous processes of the baby’s spine from the tailbone to the neck.

This is unpleasant for the baby; in response, the child begins to hold his breath, followed by a cry. His spine bends, his pelvis and head rise, his arms and legs bend, a short-term general increase in muscle tone occurs, and sometimes loss of urine and defecation occur.

Normally, the Perez reflex is well expressed during the first month of a newborn’s life, gradually weakens and completely disappears by the end of the 3rd - 4th month of life.

The preservation of the reflex after 3 months should be considered pathological sign. In newborns with birth damage to the cervical spinal cord, there is no raising of the head, that is, the Perez reflex appears to be “decapitated.” Suppression of the reflex during the neonatal period and a delay in its reverse development are observed in children with damage to the central nervous system.

16. Support reflex

If you take a newborn under the arms, he reflexively bends his legs at the hip and knee joints. At the same time, if he is placed against a support, he straightens his legs and firmly rests his entire foot on the surface of the table and “stands” like this for up to 10 seconds.

Normally, the support reflex is constant, well expressed and gradually disappears by 4-6 weeks of age.

When the nervous system is injured, the child may lean on his toes, sometimes even with his legs crossed, which indicates damage to the motor (pyramidal) pathway running from the cerebral cortex to the spinal cord.

In newborns with intracranial injury who were born with asphyxia, the support reaction is often depressed or absent in the first weeks of life. In hereditary neuromuscular diseases, the support reaction is absent due to severe muscle hypotonia.

1. protective reflex;
2. crawling reflex (Bauer);
3. support reflex and automatic gait;
4.grasping reflex;
5. Robinson reflex.

17. Automatic walking reflex, or step reflex

When leaning on your feet in easy time tilting the child's body forward, the newborn makes stepping movements.

This reflex is normally well evoked in all newborns and disappears by 2 months of life.

Alarming signs are the absence of an automatic walking reflex or walking on tiptoes with legs crossed.

In newborns with intracranial injury, born with asphyxia, in the first weeks of life the reaction automatic gait often depressed or absent. In hereditary neuromuscular diseases, automatic gait is absent due to severe muscle hypotonia. In children with central nervous system damage, automatic gait is delayed for a long time.

18. Bauer crawling reflex

A hand is placed on the feet of the newborn, who is lying on his stomach. With our hand we lightly press on the baby’s soles - in response, the child reflexively pushes off with his feet and performs crawling movements.

The crawling reflex is normally evoked in all newborns. Crawling movements in newborns become pronounced on the 3-4th day of life and persist for up to 4 months, and then fade away. Attention should be paid to the asymmetry of the reflex.

The reflex is depressed or absent in children born with asphyxia, as well as with intracranial hemorrhages and spinal cord injuries. In diseases of the central nervous system, crawling movements persist for up to 6-12 months.

19. Defensive reflexes

A) Upper protective reflex. If a newborn is placed on his stomach, then a reflexive turn of the head to the side occurs and he tries to lift it, as if providing himself with the opportunity to breathe.

The protective reflex in healthy newborns is constantly expressed from the first day of life, and after one and a half months the child tries to hold his head up on his own. In children with central nervous system damage, the protective reflex may be absent. A decrease or disappearance of this reflex can occur either with particularly severe damage to the upper cervical segments of the spinal cord, or with pathology of the brain. And, if you do not passively turn the child's head to the side, he may suffocate. In children with cerebral palsy, with increased extensor tone, a prolonged raising of the head and even throwing it back is observed.

b) “Duck” reflex. When a stream of water or air hits the nose area, the newborn holds his breath.

c) Pupillary reflex. Bright light will cause pupil constriction

d) Blinking reflex If you blow into a baby’s face, he will squint his eyes.

20. Leg withdrawal reflex

With the newborn in the supine position, when his lower limbs are relaxed, a needle injection is applied to each sole one by one. There is simultaneous flexion of the hips, legs and feet.

The reflex should be evoked equally on both sides (symmetrical).

The reflex may be weakened in children born in breech, with hereditary and congenital neuromuscular diseases, myelodysplasia. A decrease in the reflex is often observed with leg paresis. The absence of a reflex indicates damage to the child’s lower spinal cord.

21. Cross reflex of extensors.

With the newborn in the supine position, we extend one leg and apply an injection in the area of the sole - in response, the other leg is extended and slightly adducted.

In the absence of a reflex, a pathology of the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord can be assumed.

22. Neck-tonic reflexes or postural reflexes

Types of postural reflexes of a newborn baby
Asymmetric cervical tonic reflex (Magnus-Klein)

It appears when the child’s head is passively turned to the side. The arms and legs are extended on the side towards which the child's face is facing, and the opposite ones are flexed. The hand to which face turned baby, straightens up. At this moment, the tone of the extensors of the shoulder, forearm, and hand increases - the “fencer” pose, and the tone of the flexors increases in the muscles of the arm to which the back of the head is facing.

Symmetrical tonic neck reflexes

When a newborn baby passively flexes his head, the muscle tone of the flexors in the arms and extensors in the legs increases. At the same time, when the baby straightens his head, the opposite effect appears - his arms straighten and his legs bend.

Asymmetrical and symmetrical cervical reflexes of the newborn are constantly expressed in newborns.
In premature babies they are weakly expressed.

Labyrinthine tonic reflex

In the position of the child lying on his stomach, the tone in the flexor muscles increases: the head is bent to the chest or thrown back, the back is arched, the arms are bent and also brought to the chest, the hands are clenched into fists, the legs are bent in all joints and brought to the stomach. After some time, this position is replaced by swimming movements, which turn into a spontaneous crawling reflex.

Landau reflex

Give your child a “swimmer’s position” - lift the baby into the air so that his face looks down, and he will immediately raise his head, and then straighten (or even arch) his back, as well as straighten his legs and arms - swallow, from 6 months to one and a half years

1. asymmetric cervical topical Magnus-Klein reflex;
2. symmetrical cervical tonic reflexes;
3.tonic labyrinthine reflexes;
4. Landau reflex.

These reflexes normally disappear in the first 2-3 months. So, as the unconditioned and cervical-tonic reflexes fade, the child begins to hold his head, sit, stand, walk and carry out other voluntary movements. Delay in the reverse development of tonic reflexes (over 4 months) indicates damage to the central nervous system of the newborn. Persistent tonic reflexes prevent the further development of the child’s movements and the formation of fine motor skills.

IN last years talk about availability swimming reflex in a newborn, which is that the baby will flounder and will not drown if he is lowered into water. This reflex can only be tested in the presence of an instructor in the infant pool.

Problems with reflexes are the first symptoms of pathology of the central nervous system. If you are alarmed by any deviations from the norm, then do not hesitate to consult a doctor. A re-examination must necessarily take place after the appointed time - it may vary depending on the expected nature of the pathology - from several days to a month, which will help to exclude existing suspicions or, if necessary, carry out timely treatment. Remember that the child changes every day, and the manifestation of reflexes depends on a number of conditions (fullness, fatigue and many others). It is very important to check innate reflexes over time. Timely treatment is the key to a child’s future health.

Reflex –(from Latin reflexus - turned back, reflected), the body’s reaction caused by the central nervous system when receptors are irritated by agents of the internal or external environment; manifests itself in the emergence or change in the functional activity of organs and the body as a whole [“Great Soviet Encyclopedia”].

What abilities does a newborn have?

Set of unconditioned reflexes, facilitating adaptation to new living conditions:

reflexes that ensure the functioning of the main systems of the body (breathing, blood circulation, digestion, etc.), in particular the sucking reflex, reflexes of food and vestibular concentration (calming, inhibition of movements);

protective reflexes (for example, when touching the eyelids, the child closes his eyes, squints in bright light);

orientation reflexes (search reflex, turning the head towards the light source);

atavistic reflexes, i.e. those reflexes that gradually fade and disappear (for example, the grasping reflex, or the Robinson reflex; the spontaneous crawling reflex or the Bauer reflex; automatic gait, etc.).

The presence of unconditioned reflexes indicates the functional maturity of the newborn’s central nervous system, however, during the first year of life, most of them fade away.
There is a clear connection between brain maturation and the disappearance of most of these simple reflexes. The reason is that many of them are controlled by subcortical structures, primarily the midbrain, which develops in the fetus with great advance. The simplest reflexes gradually give way to more complex reflex reactions and conditioned reflex behavioral complexes, in which the cerebral cortex plays a decisive role

To date, more than seventeen congenital reflexes of newborns are known. It is difficult to say why nature “invented” so many innate reflexes, but young parents should not only be able to identify some of them in their baby, but also stimulate them. For what? Stimulation of innate reflexes, which is accompanied by active contact between the child and his parents, expands not only motor initiative, but also his ability to communicate with environment, and this contributes to the development of the baby.

Let's consider basic reflexes of newborns:

The sucking reflex subsides by 12 months, this is one of the reasons why pediatricians recommend continuing breast-feeding up to 1 year.

Psychologists note that the unrealized sucking reflex in children who are on artificial feeding, can subsequently lead to obsessive-compulsive neurosis: thumb sucking, pen sucking, corner of a pillow, etc.

Searching (seeking) Kussmaul reflex
Stroking the corner of the newborn's mouth causes the lip to lower and the head to turn towards the stimulus. Pressing on the middle of the upper lip causes a reflex raising of the upper lip upward and extension of the head. When the middle of the lower lip is irritated, the lip drops and the child's head makes a flexion movement. The reflex lasts up to 3-4 months. It is important to pay attention to the symmetry of the reflex on both sides. Asymmetry of the reflex is observed when the facial nerve is damaged. When studying the search reflex, one should also note the intensity of the head turn and whether there are grasping movements with the lips.

The search reflex is the basis for the formation of many facial (expressive) movements: shaking the head, smiling. Watching the baby feed, you can notice that before he grabs the nipple, he makes a series of rocking movements with his head until he grabs the nipple tightly.

"Proboscis" reflex.
If you sharply touch the skin of a newborn at the nasolabial fold, the baby stretches out his lips with a “proboscis” and begins to turn his head in search of the nipple. By 3-4 months, the reflex fades away, with the exception of children with central nervous system damage.

Palm-oral reflex (Babkin reflex) – pressing on the palm area causes the mouth to open and the head to bend. The reflex is present normally in all newborns, and is more pronounced before feeding. Sluggishness of the reflex is observed with damage to the central nervous system (CNS). The rapid development of the reflex is a prognostically favorable sign in children who have suffered a birth injury. The palmar-oral reflex may be absent with peripheral paresis of the arm on the affected side. In the first 2 months of life, the reflex is pronounced, and then begins to weaken, and at the age of 3 months only some of its components can be noted.When the central nervous system is damaged in a child older than 2 months, the reflex does not tend to fade, but, on the contrary, intensifies and occurs even when the palms of passive hands are lightly touched.

Breath holding reflex
This reflex helps the baby safely pass through the birth canal and avoid swallowing. amniotic fluid. In the future, it can be used when teaching your baby to swim. However, it must be remembered that during the first full immersion in water, the duration of the reflex cessation of breathing is no more than 5-6 seconds. By six months, with regular exercise, you can bring it up to 25-30 seconds, and by a year – up to 40 seconds.

Attention! Staying a child under water for longer than the specified time can lead to serious and even irreversible consequences. Before you start teaching your baby to swim, consult with a specialist who will teach you how to do it correctly.

Swimming reflex
A child immersed in water increases motor activity arms and legs, characteristic of him during sleep. This activity has nothing in common with real swimming movements, but the child can lie on the water for some time without support. A child can learn the complex coordinated movements required for any style of swimming no earlier than 2.5 - 3 years old. However, children whose swimming reflex is stimulated from birth grow physically stronger, more resistant to stress, get sick less, and subsequently love water and swimming. Even if for some time in their lives they do not have conditions for swimming, at the first opportunity they will regain their ability to float and quickly master the style that they will be taught. Their infant experience will help them with this.

The reflex is depressed or absent in children born with asphyxia, as well as with intracranial hemorrhages and spinal cord injuries. Attention should be paid to the asymmetry of the reflex. In diseases of the central nervous system, crawling movements persist for up to 6-12 months, like other unconditioned reflexes.

"Stop" reflex. If the baby is pressed vertically to the chest and lightly slammed with the palm of his hand on his soles, an active motor reaction of extension and tension of the entire skeletal muscles occurs. The baby seems to stand at attention!
Stimulation of this reflex develops skeletal muscles well, which prevents subsequent postural disorders. This exercise is good to do after feeding (provided that the baby is not sleeping) to release the air that has entered the stomach during sucking.
Heel reflex (Arshavsky reflex)
Caused by moderate pressure on the heel bone, which results in generalized extensor contraction activity, with a “crying” grimace and screaming. The reflex is well expressed only in physiologically mature newborns.

Step reflex
Hold your baby over the table so that he rests one leg on its surface. This leg will tighten, and the other, on the contrary, will fall on the table, as if the child was about to go. If you lift his toe off the surface of the table, he will tuck his foot as if he is about to stomp on the table. When stimulating the step reflex, be sure to end the exercises with breastfeeding. If the reflex is not stimulated, it disappears by two to three months.
Experts have noticed that stimulation step reflex accelerates overall physical and mental development baby. Such children begin to walk at 8-9 months, they have excellent exercise fine motor skills, they speak by the age of one year in phrases of 3-4 words, often have absolute pitch and the ability to speak languages.

Attention! Stimulation of the step reflex, as well as the “stop” reflex, is possible only in infants who do not have orthopedic abnormalities: dysplasia hip joints, dislocations and subluxations of the hip joints, congenital clubfoot.

Maintenance reflexes correct position or defensive reflex
Behavior aimed at survival is called posture reflexes. Such reflexes help the baby hold the torso, head, arms and legs in a position that is most comfortable for breathing and normal development. If you place your baby face down, he will lift his head a little (just enough to come off the surface) and turn it to the side to allow air to enter his nose. If you cover a child's head with a diaper, he will first bite it, and then begin to vigorously turn his head from side to side and move his arms, trying to remove it from his face, so that nothing interferes with looking and breathing. In children with central nervous system damage, the protective reflex may be absent, and if the child's head is not passively turned to the side, he may suffocate. In children with cerebral palsy, with increased extensor tone, a prolonged raising of the head and even throwing it back is observed.

Gag reflex
During the period when the baby learns to suck and swallow, this reflex causes him to push any object out of the mouth (this protects the baby from shock). If you apply pressure to the back of your baby's throat, his lower jaw and tongue will push down and forward to free the throat. The gag reflex remains in a person for the rest of his life, but the tongue is involved only in the first 6 months. Now that we know about this reflex, it becomes clear why babies have difficulty swallowing solid food.

Resting neck reflex (fencing reflex)
When the baby is lying on his back, turn his head to the side, and you will see that he will move his arm and leg in the same direction, taking the pose of a fencer preparing to attack. This reflex both promotes and inhibits muscle development. On the one hand, thanks to this reflex the child looks at own hand and fixes attention on the toy clamped in it. On the other hand, the reflex does not allow the baby’s head, hands and toy to be in the center. By 3-4 months, this reflex disappears, and the child begins to hold toys directly in front of him.

Withdrawal reflex
This reflex protects the child from pain. If you prick your baby's leg (for a blood test during laboratory research), he will pull it away to avoid pain, and at this time the other will begin to push, as if pushing the offender away from him.

Information sources:

Child care from birth to 5 years. – M., 2008.

Local pediatrician. Help Guide/Ed. M. F. Rzyankina, V. P. Molochny. – M., 2008.

Shapovalenko I.V. Developmental psychology: Developmental and developmental psychology. – M., 2005.

If the Apgar score evaluates the condition of the newborn as a whole, then newborn reflexes allow you to assess the state of the baby’s nervous system without any complex examinations and start on time correct treatment see a neurologist while the child’s brain has not yet finished forming and it is not too late to correct the situation.

Some of the unconditioned reflexes that are determined in the neonatal period subsequently disappear, while some of the reflexes appear a little later. If the reflex is evoked at an age at which it should already be absent, then it is considered pathological. Weak reflexes or their absence may also be a reason for further examination.

How to properly test newborn reflexes

The child’s unconditional reflex activity must be assessed in a warm room. The baby should be well-fed, dry and calm. In a children's clinic there are not always appropriate conditions, so it would be nice if the mother herself knew how to check the reflexes of newborns and, if necessary, drew the attention of the pediatrician to existing deviations.

The child's unconditioned reflexes are assessed in a state of vertical suspension by the armpits, in a position on the stomach and on the back. The applied irritations should not cause pain to the child. If the rules for checking reflexes are not followed, they can be extinguished by reactions to discomfort.

Table of reflexes of newborns and infants

Reflex	Reflex onset time	Age when the reflex disappears
Support reflex		By 2 months
Automatic walking reflex		By 2 months
Labyrinthine tonic reflex		At the end of 2 months
Babkin's palmo-oral reflex		By 3 months
Perez reflex		By 4 months
Grasp reflex		At 2 - 4 months
Bauer's crawling reflex		By 4 months
Moro reflex		By 4 months
		By 6 months
		By the end of the first year of life
	From the end of 1 month of life
Upper Landau reflex	From 4 months of age
Nizhny Landau	Formed by 5-6 months
Chain neck and trunk reflexes	By 6-7 months of life

Newborn reflexes are divided into three groups:

Persistent lifelong automatisms (corneal, orbiculopalpebral, conjunctival, pharyngeal, swallowing, tendon reflexes)
Oral and spinal segmental automatisms, myeloencephalic postural reflexes. These are transient (passing) rudimentary reflexes that reflect the conditions for the development of a long-term analyzer. These include sucking, searching, proboscis, palmar-oral. And also grasping, support reflexes, Moro, automatic gait, Perez reflex, labyrinth reflex, cervical tonic reflexes.
Mesencephalic automaticity: cervical and trunk reflexes (simple and chain), labyrinthine reflexes.

How to test your baby's basic reflexes

Search reflex: when stroking the corner of the mouth (without touching the lips), the child turns his head towards the stimulus, while his lip lowers and his tongue deviates. The reflex is especially pronounced before feeding.

Proboscis reflex: The child stretches out his lips with his proboscis when lightly hitting them with a finger. With this reflex, an automatic contraction of the orbicularis oris muscle occurs. In adults, reflexes of oral automatism appear when the cerebral cortex is damaged.

Fine sucking reflex disappears by the end of the first year of life. Before this age, you should try to wean your child off a pacifier or pacifier so that the child can develop a correct bite.

Grasp reflex: A child up to 2-4 months firmly grasps the fingers placed in his palm.

Support reflex: The child is taken from the back by the armpits, supporting the head index fingers. A raised child in this position bends his legs at the hip and knee joints, and, as it were, “stands” on half-bent legs, leaning on the support with his full foot. If a child tries to “stand” on tiptoes and crosses his legs, then this is a deviation from the norm.

Automatic gait reflex: If the child is slightly tilted forward from the previous position, he will try to make stepping movements. Sometimes, at the level of the lower third of the legs, the child’s legs may cross.

Babkin's palmo-oral reflex: If you press your thumb on the child's palms at the tenor bed, the child will open his mouth and bend his head. The reflex disappears by 3 months.

Moro reflex lasts up to 4 months of the child’s life. If you sharply lower a child by about 20 cm while in the doctor’s arms, and then quickly raise him, then in response to these actions the child will spread his arms and straighten his fingers, and then return them to their original position. To avoid dropping the baby, it is not recommended for new parents to test this reflex on their own.
If parents abruptly place the child on any surface, he will also spread his arms to the sides in fear, which is also a manifestation of the Moro reflex.

Bauer's crawling reflex: The baby will try to crawl if you put him on his stomach and place his palm under his soles. Spontaneous crawling disappears by 4 months.

Kernig reflex disappears after four months. At older ages it occurs when .

Galant reflex: If you run your fingers along the spine on both sides in the direction from the neck to the buttocks, a child lying on his side will arch his torso, and sometimes his leg may straighten. The Galant reflex should disappear by the 4th month of a child’s life.

Perez reflex causes pain, so it is better not to check it at all or to examine it last. It involves running a finger along the spinous vertebrae of a child lying on his stomach. Direction of movement: from the tailbone to the neck. With a positive Perez reflex, the torso bends, the upper and lower limbs bend, the head and pelvis rise, and sometimes urination and defecation occur. All this, naturally, is accompanied by a dissatisfied cry from the child. The Perez reflex should disappear by the fourth month.

Orbiculopalpebral reflex: By lightly tapping the upper arch of the orbit with your finger, you can cause the eyelid of the corresponding side to close. The reflex disappears by 6 months.

Asymmetric cervical-tonic reflex demonstrates a decrease in limb tone. If you turn the head of a child lying on his back so that the chin touches the shoulder, the tone of the limbs on the opposite side will increase, and decrease on the side to which the face is turned. (Limb tone may be increased, decreased or normal). With hypertonicity, the child’s muscles are overly tense and it is difficult to straighten the limbs. With hypotonicity, on the contrary, the muscles are excessively relaxed. The baby's tone is influenced by the position of the baby's body and head.

Trunk rectifying reaction manifested by straightening the head when the feet touch the support. By the end of the first month, the baby should already be able to hold his head.

Babinski reflex: In a child, the toes on the foot fan out if you irritate the outer edge of the foot with stroke movements in the direction from the heel to the toes. At the same time, dorsal extension of the thumb also occurs. It is considered physiological until the age of two.

Upper Landau reflex: By four months, the baby should be able to lift his head and top part torso, resting on the plane with your hands.

Inferior Landau reflex: The child can extend and raise his legs in a prone position. Lower Landau is formed by five to six months. Around this age, the baby begins to crawl.

Chain righting reflex from torso to torso causes separate rotation of the torso and lower extremities when the child's shoulder or pelvic region is turned to the side. A chain righting reflex is formed by 6–7 months.

Only a doctor should interpret the meanings and evaluate the results of a study of newborns. The mother’s task is to ensure that the child is well examined and, if necessary, receives the necessary treatment. Sometimes it's enough to do professional massage And special gymnastics In order to extinguish pathological reflexes, in severe cases, the neurologist will prescribe medications.