General reflexes at 3 months
The early childhood reflexes such as the Such – or the Moro – reflex disappear again after the first 3 months of life. A reflex that lasts until about 6 months of life is the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex. This is an innate reflex that helps to train the balance of the baby.
When the head is tilted to the right, the right arm and leg are stretched out in a reflex action, while the left side extremities are tightened. If this reflex does not disappear by the 6th month of life, there is a risk that the child will develop balance problems when crawling and walking. Another reflex found in babies at 3 months of age is the crying reflex.
If you hold the baby upright on both arms and place it on the soles of your feet, the baby will instinctively react with striding movements. In addition, the baby can already support itself properly with its little legs. The grasping reflex and the respiratory reflex also remain within the first 3 months and, in addition to their protective function, also serve to assess and evaluate the child’s development. A further reflex, which is particularly pronounced in the first 3 months, is the swimming reflex. When the baby is held horizontally in the water, it immediately begins to make swimming-like movements in order to be able to stay afloat.
General reflexes at 6 months
By the end of the 6th month of life, the Moro reflex should be completely extinguished.An early childhood reflex that can be triggered even at 6 months and does not indicate any pathological change is the Babinski reflex. After brushing the sole of the foot, there is an extension of the big toe and an opposite flexion of the remaining toes. Normally, this goes out in the course of the first year of life.
In case of persistence, there is a risk of difficulty in learning the movement sequences when walking. At a later age, a positive Babinski can indicate damage to the central nervous system. Another reflex that can be observed from the 6th month of life is the so-called switch burn reflex.
If the waist of a baby is embraced, which is held in a free-floating prone position, the arms are extended and supported when the head is lowered. In this way the own body weight can be supported and a possible fall with injuries can be prevented. The standing reflex can also be observed in babies at this age.
When pressure is exerted on the sole of the foot, the leg is stretched; with the attempt to straighten up independently. The Moro – reflex is a congenital clamp reflex which is supposed to protect the newborn baby from falling down. It is a reflex reaction to a fright stimulus, which develops within the 9th week of pregnancy and stops again with the maturation of the infant’s nervous system in the infancy of 2 – 4 months.
The stimuli that trigger the reflex can be very different. These include, for example, acoustic or visual stimuli or changes of position. It is also triggered, for example, by tilting the infant from a sitting position to a supine position.
As a reaction to this frightening situation, the child’s mouth is opened, the arms are raised and the fingers are spread. In the second phase, the mouth closes again, the fingers are bent by a fist and the arms are brought together in front of the chest. This body reaction can often be observed during sleep.
In the context of pediatric check-ups, the Moro – reflex serves to assess a proper child development. If the Moro reflex cannot be triggered on the same side, this can indicate, for example, upper arm plexus paralysis on the side that has not moved. If it persists after the 4th month of life, serious developmental damage can occur. In these cases, motor and developmental treatment should be initiated to counteract secondary diseases such as ADHD.
