Primitive reflexes in babies #babies #pediatrics #doctor | Zachary Rubin, MD

The rooting reflex is one of the earliest reflexes babies use to feed. When you gently stroke a newborn’s cheek, they turn toward the touch and open their mouth. This is normal in infancy and helps them find the breast or bottle. As the brain matures, this reflex should fade so higher motor and speech systems can take over. When the rooting reflex stays active beyond infancy, it can create challenges because the head and mouth are still being pulled into that early feeding pattern. This limits h

Primitive reflexes: we have to integrate them! Let’s talk about the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex. The ATNR emerges 18 weeks in utero and diminishes completely 3–9 months after birth. The effect of the retained ATNR can be poor eye tracking and difficulty crossing the visual midline. The occurrence of the reflex can cause difficulties in learning to read, telling the time and left-right confusion as well. ~ The ATNR is often called the “fencing reflex”, due to the fact that when an infant is ly