Your Baby's Amazing Reflexes

Shortly after birth, a tiny infant flails its arms and legs. At birth, much of an infant's motor behavior appears to be uncoordinated and purposeless. However, infants are born with many reflexes that pave the way for more controlled body movements.

What's a reflex? A reflex is an involuntary reaction to stimuli such as touch, sound, and light. Reflexes are inborn, controlled by the spinal cord and brainstem, and emerge during prenatal development. Imagine that a sudden gust of wind blows into your face. You shut your eyes, don't you? Blinking the eyes in response to a gust of wind or a puff of air is an example of a reflex. It's inborn. No one taught it to you; it's a natural response.

We are born with an amazing collection of reflexes. With development, some reflexes come under voluntary control, and thus disappear. Others, like the eye-blink response to a puff of air, remain for life. Here are just a few of the amazing reflexes that babies are born with:

Palmar Reflex.

Place your finger in your baby's hand. Does the hand grip tightly onto your finger? That's the palm reflex. Did you know that a baby's grasp during the palmar reflex is strong enough to lift his or her weight? The palmar reflex is thought to turn into voluntary control of the hand during the first few months of age.

Rooting Reflex.

As you're holding your baby, stroke the corner of his or her mouth or the side of the cheek lightly. The baby's head will move or rotate towards your hand, the mouth will open, and he or she will start sucking. There is a lot of variability in how strongly babies show the rooting reflex, some will turn their heads quickly and start sucking vigorously and others may turn more slowly and merely open their mouths. These variations are normal. Like the palmar reflex, the rooting reflex transforms into voluntary control in the early months of life.

Moro Reflex.

This reflex is elicited by either a loud noise, or the baby's head falling backwards by about 20 degrees (as if he or she were falling). The reflex response is that the baby will extend the arms outward with his or her hands open, then he or she will bring the hands up to midline, clenched, as if to grab hold of something. The moro reflex disappears at around six months of age.

Stepping Reflex.This is an exciting and delightful reflex for parents. Hold your baby under the arms, upright, with his or her feet lightly touching a surface (like the floor or a table). As you lean the baby forward slightly, his or her feet will make stepping movements.

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