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How many months does the sucking reflex last in a child, why it may be weak or absent. What to do with a weak or no sucking reflex

Why does this happen and what to do if the “finger in the mouth” has become a habit?

Delicious fingers

For the first time, a finger in a child's mouth appears in the days when he is in the womb. Why an unborn baby sucks a finger, scientists can only make assumptions. One of them is preparation for breastfeeding, the development of the sucking reflex. The second is an attempt to calm down, feeling maternal anxiety. Which of these explanations is correct? The child himself, of course, cannot answer this question, and there is still no sufficient scientific data.

At 3 months "finger in the mouth" becomes the achievement of the child. Despite all the intrauterine training, only during this period does the coordination of movements become sufficient to voluntarily, i.e. of your own free will, and not accidentally, bring your hand to your mouth. The baby will continue to master coordinated hand-mouth movements for several weeks, and it would be a mistake to interfere with it.

But now the child is about 1 year old or more. And the parents notice that he sucks his thumb again, most often the thumb.
And they feel anxious, because if the habit is fixed, problems cannot be avoided. Parents are frightened by worms, improper bite formation, and simply - it's ugly!

And the fight "with the finger" begins, often as cruel as it is senseless. Thumb sucking has different reasons, and in each case you need to act in a special way to help the child.

Does thumb sucking interfere with the baby? More likely no than yes. Until he turns 5–6 years old, peers will not pay attention to this at all, and he will not become the subject of ridicule until at least at school. So, this childish habit rather interferes with us, adults. Thumb sucking is a rather vivid symptom, indicating a possible psychological distress of the baby.

The help is not to get rid of the symptom, but to identify the problem that leads to this behavior. That is why the prohibition to suck a finger, slapping hands, persuasion do not lead to anything. They do not solve the problem that led to the emergence of the bad habit! Let's try to understand the main reasons for thumb sucking.

Sucking reflex

  • My Kostik is 5 months old. It worries me that he often sucks his fingers. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough milk, and by the end of the first month of his life Kostya was getting his food from a bottle. The problem started at 3 months, when the baby "found" his pens. He trained quickly, and his fingers are now in his mouth too often. Kostik is a long-awaited, beloved child, and everyone in our family treats him with tenderness and attention. But I can't figure out what is he missing?

Infants under 1 year of age often suck their fingers if their sucking reflex is not as satisfied as necessary. Some babies have a stronger reflex than others, and even when breastfeeding they suck on everything, including their own hands.

An unsatisfied sucking reflex can be discussed in the following cases:

  • Your baby is no more than 1.5 years old. Normally, this reflex begins to gradually fade at the age of six months and finally fades away at about 1.5 years.
  • The baby eats too quickly, for example, spends 5-10 minutes at the breast or bottle. If breastfeeding, then the reason may be "tight" breast with weak muscles of the baby's mouth. Or, on the contrary, there is a lot of milk, and the baby hardly needs to work. With artificial feeding, the cause is often too large a hole in the bottle.

In the absence of breastfeeding, the baby does not know how to drink from a bottle - for example, he drinks only from a spoon. This can also happen in a situation where the mother deliberately does not teach the baby to bottle, hoping to return to breastfeeding after a forced break - for example, after taking medications that are incompatible with breastfeeding.

If you suspect that the sucking instinct may not be satisfied, you can do the following:

  • Extend your breastfeeding time. If your baby is breastfeeding, do not rush to finish feeding. Allow the baby to be at the breast for 30 and 40 minutes, even if he just sucks it a little, already asleep. This recommendation is especially relevant for babies in the first months of life.
  • If your baby is "artificial", then watch how long he sucks the bottle. It is good if the hole in the bottle is selected so that the baby suckles for 15–20 or more minutes. The nipple for the bottle must be matched by age, which can be read on the packaging.
  • Buy a pacifier. Currently, there is a debate about whether the child needs it. Of course, the choice is yours, but if the baby has a highly developed or insufficiently satisfied sucking reflex, then let him suck a high-quality nipple rather than form the habit of sucking his finger or tongue. In the end, it is easier to give up the nipple, after 1.5 years "giving" it to another baby, but a finger or tongue will not work.

It is worth noting that in babies under 1 year old, an unsatisfied sucking reflex is not the only reason to suck fingers. Often a child's hand is in his mouth when he wants to eat. Then the crumb greedily begins to suck it, irritated and crying that milk does not flow from it. Such finger-sucking will not develop into a habit if the mother responds in a timely manner to the signals given, or even better, offers the breast before the baby is too hungry.

Also, already at this age, one of the reasons may be boredom. If the mother spends a lot of time with the baby, caresses him, picks him up, plays, then the child does not have much time to suck fingers or other objects. The crumb will still “pull everything into his mouth”, but in a different way. The object or fingers are in the mouth for a few seconds, then the child takes them out and examines them. Then he “tastes” again, for a little longer, then looks again. This sequence can be repeated several times. It also includes other actions: the baby can knock with an object (or hand on some surface), shake it, throw it. All of this is exploratory behavior. If you see that the baby is “frozen”, his gaze has become absent and he sucks his finger or something else - it's time to distract him before it becomes a bad habit.

Bad habit

  • My daughter Lisa is 2 years 5 months old. We have a problem: the baby cannot fall asleep without sucking the thumb on her right hand. I notice that the finger also ends up in her mouth when Lisa watches cartoons or when she gets tired or upset. But I don’t want to smear my fingers with something bitter yet, I feel sorry for my daughter. How can you help a baby get rid of this habit?

Let's first figure out what a "habit" is. A habit is any repetitive behavior formed according to the principle of "stimulus-response", each time arising more and more automatically. In other words, it once happened that the child was too excited before going to bed, a finger accidentally got into his mouth. The baby liked the sensations: the finger was warm, and its sucking was pleasant. The baby calmed down and fell asleep. A few days later, the situation repeated, the child repeated the action: put his finger in his mouth to fall asleep. And gradually it became a habit: even when the baby is not worried about anything, he must take his finger in his mouth before going to bed. This became the "button" that triggers falling asleep.

Habits that help to calm down extend to other situations in which the child experiences negative emotions. Evening fatigue, being alone in your room, parental dissatisfaction with the baby's behavior, fear - these and other similar situations require calming. And the "sweet finger" comes to the rescue, becoming a universal remedy!

Often parents are perplexed: the child is beloved, is not deprived of attention, he has not experienced stress, so where does a habit similar to a neurotic one come from? Parents begin to delve into themselves, looking for secret problems affecting the baby. Perhaps this "work on oneself" is not useless. Still, thumb sucking, especially before the age of 3, is not always associated with something very serious. In the second or third year of life, the baby goes through a whole era of stereotyped forms of behavior (repeating something over and over again), which is then replaced by a new stage of development. And the problem of the "finger" can disappear without a trace.

If you look at it, we are all made up of habits. Having habits optimizes our life, otherwise we would spend a lot of time, each time going through the options for possible actions in already familiar situations. Thumb-sucking for a child is a "magic wand" that helps him to calm down and balance his inner state. No, the author does not claim that thumb sucking is good. But you need to understand that this habit is for the child the same benefits as for us adults, other actions that help calm down. We bite the tip of the pen, pondering the problem, fiddling with a pendant or strand of hair, rubbing our hands, touching our lips or temples. Each of us needs certain habits to help us in difficult situations.

All this means only one thing: if you are annoyed by the child's habit of sucking his thumb, then you must teach him other ways to calm down or occupy himself. You can't just root out a habit without offering anything in return. It will either return to its original form, or go into another, no less annoying: biting nails, sucking lips or tongue, sucking toys, etc. That is why, in the case of established habits, prohibitions, educational conversations, smearing a finger with something tasteless are so ineffective. All these measures offer nothing in return.

So, if thumb sucking is a habit, then you can proceed in this way:

  • Catch the habit right at the start. Remember, the longer the stimulus-response cycle lasts, the more habitual unwanted actions become. Look, in what situation the baby sucks his thumb - boredom, anxiety, fatigue? Suggest a replacement. For example, if your child sucks his thumb before bed, you can massage the fingers and the whole body while humming softly. Before going to bed, you can offer your baby games with water, which perfectly stimulate the nerve endings of the whole body, including fingers: the same heat, water, massaging effect, as in sucking. Create a bedding ritual that helps your baby relax without thumb sucking.
  • Is there an example? Often, children who acquire bad habits unknowingly copy people who are important to them. For example, a child can spy on the habit of sucking a finger from a brother or sister (both younger and older) and even adults, if one of them, in thought, can suck not the finger itself, but the bone on the hand. If an adult has become an example, he needs to get rid of this habit himself, otherwise all other measures will be ineffective. If a brother or sister is an example, think about how you organize the time you spend with your children. Are you giving everyone enough positive attention? If both children suck their fingers, the problem is more serious and deeper: it is better to analyze it with a psychologist.
  • Distract, but wisely. When you see a baby sucking on a finger, the best thing you can do is to gently distract your baby without mentioning that he is doing something wrong. You can invite him to play, dance, do crafts that develop fine motor skills, read a book. In general, to do any business so that the baby does not suck his thumb just out of boredom. If a child sucks a finger in a state of fatigue, you need to hug him, caress him, do a general massage and massage of the hands. It's good if you have funny poems in stock, under which you can do finger gymnastics. But at the same time it is important to remember the following: if you start to deal with the child only after you see the "finger", then the habit of sucking it will not disappear anywhere. Simply the "finger" will become a button to enable communication with you. Therefore, it is important that you offer play and relaxation before the finger is in the mouth, realizing that the child is in a state where he needs help.
  • Do not scold your baby and, if you can, pay less direct attention to thumb sucking. The fact is that as long as the habit is unconscious, it can go away on its own. This is the happy difference between children and adults. If you constantly tug at the child: "Take your finger out of your mouth!" Moreover, the baby receives a tool in order to guaranteed to attract your attention, albeit negative.

Psychological problem

At 1 year 4 months, Vanya had to wean from the breast, as his mother needed an urgent operation. The kid had to part with his mother for two weeks. This was followed by the divorce of the parents and registration in a kindergarten. Vanechka sucked his thumb intensively. Mom tried to protect the child from experiences, did everything to make him feel her love, understanding and support. She did not use “radical” measures (plasters, bitter liquids), moreover, Vanya was allowed to “legally” suck her thumb before going to bed. But my mother explained that this has a bad effect on the teeth, and microbes can be dangerous, so Vanya will be a fine fellow if he decides to give up this habit. At the age of 4, the boy himself decided not to suck his thumb anymore. Needless to say, he received the warmest support and admiration of his mom!

The problems in a child's life are not always as obvious as in the case of Vanya. It is one step from a simple bad habit to a symptom of a psychological problem.

You might assume that thumb sucking is an indicator of psychological distress in the following cases:

  • The child has experienced some kind of stress. This can be the death of someone close or a pet, a previous illness (especially with hospitalization), severe fright. The child may not start sucking the thumb immediately, but some time after the traumatic event. Be careful!
  • The kid lives in a situation of chronic family stress. If your life is accompanied by scandals, a showdown or "oppression of silence", then even a one-year-old child can react to this with neurotic manifestations.
  • "Joyful" stress. The birth of another child, moving to a new apartment, going on vacation are joyful for adults, but for a baby it can be a real challenge.
  • The child was not wanted initially. Feelings of uselessness can accompany a child from birth and lead to deep problems in emotional development. If the contact between mom and baby is broken, he does not receive the necessary warmth and attention, then he reacts with many symptoms of trouble, including thumb sucking.
  • All measures to combat the "bad habit" are ineffective. You try to do everything to distract the child, giving him a lot of attention, but the finger still ends up in the mouth. A stubborn habit unaffected by your actions suggests that the problem is possibly deeper than it seems.

Thumb sucking when it is a psychological problem is rarely the only worrying symptom. After experiencing stress, the baby may lose some of the already formed skills - stop eating on his own, “forget” how to use the pot, “lose” speech. This is called developmental regression. If the situation is favorable for the child and they try to help him, then the previous skills are restored, and the neurotic symptoms disappear. If the baby lives in a “cold” family, does not feel emotional attachment, and caring for him is formal (dressing, feeding, putting to bed), then various fears, for example, of a new space, of new people, can join in thumb sucking. The child may demonstrate "inappropriate" reactions: panic, shrill screeching, aggressive actions, etc. Thumb-sucking is just the tip of the iceberg when the baby is experiencing psychological discomfort. And it is completely useless to fight the habit itself - you need to look for a problem and work on it. Consider going to a psychologist for professional help, because in each case, the recommendations for overcoming the problem will be different.

Thus, thumb sucking is a strong symptom, indicating that the child needs help. Before 1 year of age, these are measures to help satisfy the sucking reflex. From 1 to 3 years old, the baby needs support in a state of anxiety, fatigue, boredom, so that the "finger" does not become a bad habit. After 3 years, if a child sucks his thumb often, then there is a reason to think about whether there are psychological problems leading to this behavior.


A child is born with a set of unconditioned reflexes. reflex arcs of which begin to form at the 3rd month of prenatal development. So, the first sucking and breathing movements appear in the fetus precisely at this stage of ontogenesis, and the active movement of the fetus is observed in the 4-5th month of intrauterine development. By the time of birth, the child develops the majority of congenital unconditioned reflexes that provide him with the normal functioning of the vegetative sphere, his vegetative “comfort”.

In the first days of life, a sucking reflex is formed in a child. Any irritation to the lips of the child triggers a response. In the implementation of the sucking reflex, the nuclei of the cranial nerves (trigeminal, facial, vestibular, glossopharyngeal, vagus and sublingual) located in the brain stem are involved.

The lower, brainstem parts of the brain - the medulla oblongata and midbrain - are similar in structure and function to the spinal cord and are the central apparatus that carries out a number of complex and vital reflexes. So, in the medulla oblongata, the arcs of the sucking reflex, which a person has from the first birthday, the salivary reflex, which manifests itself when the oral cavity is irritated by food, and some other reflexes, are closed. These reflexes are biologically meaningful and are called protective reflexes.

For the first time, the sucking reflex manifests itself in the first hours after birth. The baby is actively looking for her mother's breast, and it is very important to support this instinct. As soon as the baby feels the warmth of the body, hears the familiar heartbeat and receives the first drop of colostrum, he will immediately calm down.

The sucking reflex is one of the main and most important, it usually lasts the entire first year of life.

Baby with a pacifier. Photo: sovgunga

The sucking reflex is a reflection of the child's maturity. The strict coordination of the sucking mechanism is made up of the interaction of five pairs of cranial nerves.

After feeding, this reflex is greatly weakened, and after half an hour or an hour it begins to revive again.
With brain damage, the sucking reflex decreases or completely disappears.
The sucking reflex is reduced or even disappears when any of the cranial nerves involved in the sucking act are damaged.

An unrealized sucking reflex in children weaned early or bottle-fed can lead to varying degrees of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How it is expressed:

1. Sucking on foreign objects:

Finger (most common)
fabrics (blankets, pillows, sleeve cuffs, collar corners, etc.),
stationery (ballpoint pen, brush or pencil in your mouth),
their own hair (girls sometimes take the ends of their braids into their mouths);
favorite toys, and more.

2. Biting nails.

3. In boys, under the influence of the prohibition on sucking on the nipple or thumb, the consequences of an unrealized reflex often lead to masturbation.

4. In the future, in adulthood, an unrealized sucking reflex causes the habit of smoking, or the habit of keeping foreign objects in the mouth (pencil, etc.) persists. There is an opinion that the craving for smoking arises from the lack of realization of the sucking reflex and the habit of "sucking in" nervousness and alertness. You can see that in stressful situations, smokers are more likely to reach for a cigarette, which confirms this assumption.

The child, as we have already said, is at the oral stage of development (from Lat. Oral - mouth). But the unfavorable passage of this stage can give rise to neurotic reactions. For example, oral fixation can occur if the baby has been deprived of breast milk or affection during the breastfeeding period. People with such a fixation are usually passive "they see the source of all maternal and spiritual benefits outside themselves" (Fromm), the mouth is the most expressive part of their appearance.

Depending on the way of appearance, there are "active and passive" forms of oral aggression. Active is associated with the desire to bite, including in the psychological sense of the word - verbally, this is expressed by malice and caustic remarks. Passive form - illness, refusal to eat, complaints.

Therefore, if a woman for any reason refuses to breastfeed before the sucking reflex of the child is extinguished, she should try to find an “object for sucking”. If a child is artificially fed from the very beginning, a pacifier is mandatory for him, since the harm from it is incomparably less than from an unsatisfied reflex.



Congenital reflexes- the gift of nature, necessary for the baby to survive outside the mother's body, which help the newborn in adapting to life in the world around him.

Even in the maternity hospital, immediately after the birth of the baby, the neonatologist checks congenital reflexes and assesses the development of the nervous system. If the physiological reflexes are well developed and muscle tone is normal, then the child is all right.

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

Their absence is considered pathology, 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, is the respiratory reflex - the baby's lungs open and he takes the 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 inserting a nipple, nipple, or finger into the mouth, rhythmic sucking movements appear.

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

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

4. Reflex gag. The reflex makes the child push any solid objects out of the 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 under 6 months to swallow solid food.

5. Search (search) reflex of Kussmaul

The reflex should be elicited 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 stroking is performed.

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

Touching the middle of the lower lip causes the lip to sink, the mouth opens, and the baby's head performs a flexion motion.

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

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

It is normally caused in all newborns and should completely disappear by 3 months of age. Then there is a reaction to a visual stimulus, the baby revives 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, asymmetric in newborns with facial nerve damage. In the presence of cerebral pathology in newborns, the reflex can 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)

It is caused by a quick light touch with a finger, a nipple or a hammer on the upper lip of the child - in response, the facial muscles of the newborn contract - the lips are pulled 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. Preservation of its proboscis reflex in children over three months of age is a sign of a possible pathology of the brain and is observed in children with damage to the nervous system.

7. Babkin's palmar-oral reflex

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

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

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

The rapid development of the reflex and its decline up to 3 months is a prognostically favorable sign in children who have suffered a birth trauma.

The palmar-oral reflex may be absent with peripheral paresis of the hand on the affected side. With damage to the central nervous system in a child older than 2 months, the reflex does not tend to fade, but, on the contrary, intensifies and arises even with a slight touch of the palms of passive hands.

8.Upper grasping reflex (Yanishevsky)

In response to a stroke touch on the palm of the newborn, the fingers are bent and the object is grasped into a fist.

In an infant, the grasping reflex is normally well evoked. Before feeding and while eating, the grasping reflex is much more pronounced.

The reflex is physiological up to 3-4 months, then, on the basis of the grasping reflex, voluntary grasping of objects is gradually formed.

In retarded children, the reaction is also weakened, in excitable, 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 side of the lesion 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's suspension reflex

In response to stroking the palmar side of the hand, flexion of the fingers and grasping of the object occurs. Sometimes, when this reflex is evoked, the child holds the object or finger so tightly that such a clinging child can be lifted up by the fingers - this phase of the reflex is called the Robinson reflex. Thus, it turns out that a newborn, seemingly completely helpless creature, can develop in his hands such a "muscle strength" that keeps his own body in limbo.

By 3-4 months, this unconditioned reflex is transformed into a conditioned one - the child begins to grab toys purposefully. A good severity of the grasping reflex and the Robinson reflex contributes to the rapid development of the conditioned reflex and thereby the development of muscle strength in the hands and contributes to the more rapid development of fine manual skill.

10. Lower grasping reflex (plantar, Babinsky's reflex)

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

Thumb pressure on the ball of the foot induces plantar flexion of the toes.

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

The absence of the lower grasping reflex occurs when the spinal cord is affected at the lumbar level.

11. Reflex Babinsky.

If you make dashed irritation of the sole along the outer edge of the foot in the direction from the heel to the toes, then there is a dorsal extension of the big toe and a fan-shaped divergence of the II-V fingers.

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

We want to warn the parents.

Healthy newborns should NOT have the Babinsky reflex.

The Babinsky reflex is pathological from the very first days of a child's life and is a subtle sign of pyramidal pathology, and the frequency of its detection is not evidence of its physiology, but evidence of the frequency of neurological disorders in newborns. Moreover, 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 pressing on the calcaneus, a cry or grimaces of crying is caused in a child.

Their absence, a decrease in the severity or asymmetry may indicate damage to the nervous system.

13. Moro's embrace reflex

It is called by various methods: if you suddenly slap with both hands on both sides on the surface on which the child lies, at a distance of 15 cm from his head (no need to hit with all his might!), Then the newborn moves his arms to the sides and opens his fists - I phase of the reflex Moreau. After a few seconds, the hands return to their original position (embryo posture) - phase II of the Moro reflex.

A similar movement in the hands occurs with a passive sudden extension (extension) of the newborn's legs, raising the baby's extended legs and pelvis above the bed, with pressure 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 4th-5th month, then begins to fade; after the 5th month, only some of its components can be observed.

With flaccid paresis of the hand, the reflex decreases or is completely absent on the side of the lesion, which indicates that the spinal cord in the cervical spine was injured during childbirth. In children with intracranial injury, the reflex may be absent in the first days of life. With pronounced hypertension, there is an incomplete Moro reflex: the newborn only slightly removes his hands.

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

14. Reflex Galant

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

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

The reaction from both sides should be the same.

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


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

15. Perez reflex

The baby is laid face down, with his breast on his palm. Supporting on weight (when the baby calms down and completely hangs his head, arms and legs), gently pressing, run your finger along the spinous processes of the child's spine from the tailbone to the neck.

This is unpleasant for the baby, in response, the child has a breath holding followed by a cry. His spine bends, the pelvis and head are raised, the arms and legs are bent, there is a short-term general increase in muscle tone, and sometimes there is a loss of urine and defecation.

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.

Preservation of the reflex older than 3 months should be considered a pathological sign. In newborns with birth damage to the cervical spinal cord, the head is not raised, that is, the Perez reflex turns out to be "decapitated", as it were. Inhibition of the reflex during the neonatal period and a delay in its reverse development is observed in children with damage to the central nervous system.

16. Support reflex

If you take a newborn under the arms, then he reflexively flexes his legs at the hip and knee joints. At the same time, if you put him to the support, he unbends his legs and rests tightly with his whole foot against the surface of the table and so “stands” for up to 10 seconds.

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

With an injury to the nervous system, the child can lean on his toes, sometimes even with crossed legs, which indicates a lesion of the motor (pyramidal) pathway leading from the cerebral cortex to the spinal cord.

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

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

17. Reflex of automatic walking, or step reflex

When leaning on the feet while slightly tilting the child's body forward, the newborn makes step movements.

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

Alarming signs are lack of automatic walking reflex or walking on tiptoe with crossed legs.

In newborns with intracranial trauma, born in asphyxia, in the first weeks of life, the reaction of automatic gait is often depressed or absent. In hereditary neuromuscular diseases, automatic gait is absent due to severe muscular hypotension. In children with CNS damage, automatic gait is delayed for a long time.

18. Bauer Crawl Reflex

A hand is placed at the feet of the newborn, laid on its stomach. With a hand, lightly press on the soles of the baby - in response, the child reflexively pushes off from it with his feet and performs crawling movements.

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

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

19. Protective reflexes

a) Upper protective reflex. If the newborn is put on its stomach, then there is a reflex turn of the head to the side and he tries to raise 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 on his own. In children with CNS damage, the protective reflex may be absent. A decrease or disappearance of this reflex can be either with especially severe damage to the upper cervical segments of the spinal cord, or with pathology of the brain. And, if you do not turn the child's head passively to the side, he may suffocate. In children with cerebral palsy, with an increase in extensor tone, there is a prolonged rise of the head and even throwing it back.

b) "Duck" reflex. If a jet of water or air hits the nasal area, the newborn will hold its breath.

c) Pupillary reflex. The bright light will cause the pupil to constrict.

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

20. Reflex withdrawal of the leg

In the position of the newborn on the back, when his lower limbs are relaxed, a needle is injected alternately on each sole. There is a simultaneous flexion of the hips, legs and feet.

The reflex must be triggered equally on both sides (symmetrical).

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

21. Cross reflex of extensors.

In the position of the newborn on the back, we unbend 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, pathology of the lumbar thickening of the spinal cord can be assumed.

22. Cervical-tonic reflexes or posotonic reflexes

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

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

Symmetrical tonic cervical reflexes

Passive flexion of the newborn's head increases the muscle tone of the flexors in the arms and extensors in the legs. At the same time, when the baby unbends the head, the opposite effect appears - the arms are unbend and the legs are bent.

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

Labyrinth tonic reflex

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

Reflex Landau

Give the child a "swimmer position" - lift the baby into the air so that his face looks down, and he immediately raises his head, and then straightens (or even arches) his back, as well as straightens his legs and arms - swallow, from 6 months to one and a half years

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

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

In recent years, there has been talk of swimming reflex in a newborn, which consists in the fact that the baby will flounder and will not drown if it is lowered into the water. This reflex can only be tested in the presence of an instructor in the newborn pool.

Reflex problems are the first symptoms of a pathology of the central nervous system. If you are alarmed by any deviations from the norm, then do not hesitate to consult a doctor. Re-examination must necessarily take place after the appointed time - it may be different depending on the alleged 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 (satiety, fatigue, and many others). It is very important to check innate reflexes in dynamics. Treatment started on time is a guarantee of the child's health in the future.

During the neonatal period, unconditioned reflexes begin to work in the child. This is a natural reaction to certain external stimuli. Some of them are gradually fading away, being replaced by acquired ones. The sucking reflex in newborns wakes up from the first hours of life, persisting throughout the year. The baby grabs the nipple with his lips and sucks rhythmically. This unconditioned reflex is necessary for the formation of a conditioned reflex - food. Nobody teaches a child to suck - this is laid by nature in the womb.

What it is

The unconditioned sucking reflex has a huge impact on the formation of the baby's psyche from early childhood. With its help, the baby satisfies his hunger.

Sucking reflex test. How can you check (Photo)

When feeding, the nipple or nipple on the bottle touches the palate, the reflex is triggered - and the baby actively begins to suck food. By the severity of the sucking reflex, it is determined how hungry the baby is. After saturation, the reflex weakens, but soon awakens again. Rhythmic sucking has a calming effect on the newborn.

5 cerebral nerves are responsible for sucking - vagus (shortest), ternary, hypoglossal, facial and glossopharyngeal. Their interaction is strictly coordinated by the sucking reflex. If the central nervous system or one of these nerves is damaged, the reaction is weakened or completely disappears.

How to tell if a sucking reflex is normal

In order to awaken the sucking reflex, a bent finger is inserted into the baby's mouth 2-3 cm. A healthy full-term baby immediately begins to suckle it. If the reaction is well developed, touching the lips and stroking the cheek is enough. The baby will open his mouth and begin to move his tongue intensively as when sucking.

When evaluating the sucking reflex, test feeding is used. The baby is given a breast or a bottle of formula, and they watch how he copes. With a weak reflex, the baby sluggishly sucks food. He quickly loses strength, rarely swallows and falls asleep. Subsequently, interest in the breast is lost, and the baby is even able to refuse it.

Weak sucking reflex and its absence

The vital sucking reflex that allows a newborn to survive can be impaired for several reasons:

  • paralysis of the facial and cerebral nerves;
  • severe somatic disorders that weaken the body;
  • mental underdevelopment;
  • intrauterine oxygen starvation, which causes damage to the nervous system.

Viral, infectious ailments, exacerbated stomatitis, severe rhinitis can reduce the sucking reaction. Since the baby is regular, he has to be fed with expressed milk from a syringe spoon, pipette or bottle. The baby may not suck well because of the mom's flat, inverted nipples. But these cases are rare, and you can deal with them using.

When it turns out that the reflex is weakened, Mom should take immediate action. After all, the newborn is threatened by malnutrition, mental, neurological disorders, leading to developmental delays.

The subsiding of the sucking reflex requires an immediate visit to a neurologist and constant medical supervision of the child.

  • birth trauma leading to damage to the medulla oblongata;
  • deep prematurity;
  • weakened facial muscles

are the reason for the complete disappearance of the sucking reflex. A neurologist should examine the baby and evaluate his other unconditioned reflexes. After that, observation will be carried out. Therapeutic treatment may be required.

The sucking reflex in premature babies is always weakened or completely absent. So that the child can develop normally, after birth he is fed through a tube or injected with special nutrient solutions intravenously. This method of feeding lasts until the sucking reflex appears in a pronounced degree and the mechanisms of nervous regulation that are responsible for the baby's reactions develop.

When the baby is reluctant to suckle, the question of how to restore the reflex becomes paramount. Here pacifiers-nipples and feeding the baby with milk from a bottle come to the rescue. The doctor recommends a facial massage before each feed. To restore the reaction, you should know the cause of the weak reflex, and, as far as possible, work to eliminate it. Without the advice of experienced specialists, you cannot deal with the problem on your own. This is dangerous for the baby.

At what age should you pass

Many mothers are interested in how old a child's sucking reflex is? Children over one and a half years old do not need it and the reaction gradually fades away. Sucking movements of the lips and tongue persist for another 2-2.5 years.

Children who were early fed with adapted formulas did not fully realize their natural instinct to suck. This is fraught with the development of neuroses and obsessive movements.

The child may develop unpleasant habits that are difficult to get rid of over the years:

  • sucking on various objects (fingers, pens, hair ends, pillow edges, toys, etc.);
  • the habit of biting fingernails and toenails;
  • in adulthood, this manifests itself in the desire to smoke. With any stress and conflict, a person unconsciously reaches for a pack of cigarettes.

This means that the baby must fully go through the oral stage of development, satisfying his sucking reflex, so that neurotic reactions and bad habits do not form in the future. Babies weaned early from the mother's breast should develop with a dummy as the subject of sucking. In the preschool period, if a child did not receive either a pacifier or a breast, he may behave aggressively, bite other children, sarcastically, and snap back. Such babies have a weak appetite, moodiness, soreness.

The baby is offered a pacifier between feedings, and gradually weaned him off - without punishment and negative emotions (). In an affectionate form, the baby is informed that the nipple went to another lala, was lost, and the fairy took it away.

Reflexes are spontaneous reactions to any external irritant factor. They are characteristic of all multicellular organisms, including animals and humans. Reflexes are unconditioned and conditioned.

The first group is always with a person, contributing to his existence in the external environment - these are innate reflexes. The second group represents neurological signs that appear and disappear over the course of a person's life. Each child is born with a certain number of unconditioned reflexes, among them the sucking reflex and other automatisms that provide the new person with the conditions for survival.

What is the sucking reflex?

It is formed in a child in the first minutes of life, and its inclinations are manifested even in the womb, ultrasound often shows how the fetus holds its finger in its mouth. If the baby was born healthy and full-term, he is immediately applied to the mother's breast, and he calms down, receiving a few drops of colostrum. So in maternity hospitals they support the innate instinct and contribute to the correct establishment of the sucking reflex.

Any kind of touching the baby's lips elicits responses in the form of sucking movements. Doctors know up to what age the sucking reflex is the norm, carrying out a protective function - this is the first 12 months of life.

The sucking reflex is realized with the participation of the nuclei of certain nerves located in the stem of the medulla oblongata. These are the trigeminal nerve, facial, vestibular, glossopharyngeal, vagus and sublingual.

The interconnection of these pairs of nerves ensures strict coordination of the sucking process. After the end of feeding, the reflex first weakens, and after an hour or an hour and a half it revives again. If the central nervous system or any of the above nerves is damaged, it decreases or disappears altogether.

Children who were weaned early from mother's milk and fed with formula have a problem with an incompletely realized sucking reflex, which can lead to the development of neurosis of obsessive-compulsive movements of varying degrees. This is reflected in particular in the following:

  • the habit of sucking on various objects (finger, pen, pencil, blanket, dolls, etc.);
  • the habit of biting your nails;
  • in adults, the desire to smoke, to hold a cigarette in the mouth for a long time, to try to light a cigarette faster under any stress.

Thus, the child must correctly go through the oral stage of development, so that there is no formation of neurotic reactions in the future. People who are deprived of breast milk at an early stage of development should be brought up with the use of a pacifier as an object of sucking, otherwise an adult may show oral aggression throughout life in an active form (biting, verbally snapping, spiteful) and passive (poor appetite, all sorts of painful state).

A dummy is given to a child between feedings, it is necessary to wean from it gradually, during the game, with conversations and affection, without punishment and shouting. When the sucking reflex fades away, nature has determined that a child older than one or one and a half years old does not need it, although the baby's sucking movements will persist for a long time in a dream and in subsequent years, up to about 3 or 4 years.

Why might he be absent?

With the weakness of this action, the baby very sluggishly sucks on the breast or bottle, quickly falling asleep when feeding, or even completely refusing to eat. This happens in weakened, traumatized in childbirth or premature babies. They are discharged from the inpatient department when the child gets used to sucking milk well. A decrease in the sucking reflex can be observed for the following reasons:

  • hypoxic-traumatic damage to the central nervous system of the child in the womb or in childbirth;
  • severe somatic diseases (due to general weakness and malaise);
  • paresis and paralysis of the cranial nerves, in particular the facial;
  • mentally retarded children;
  • severe stomatitis, respiratory viral infections, rhinitis;
  • flat-shaped nipples in the mother.

With a reduced sucking reflex, the child is constantly malnourished, so it must be fed with a spoon or expressed milk from a bottle every 2 or 2.5 hours.

Any deviation in the baby's condition is a reason to consult a doctor, because this can be a signal of the development of a serious pathology that requires immediate treatment. A decrease in the sucking reflex requires dynamic monitoring with the involvement of a neurologist.

The absence of a sucking reflex is the first symptom of damage to the central nervous system, or rather the stem of the medulla oblongata, a prognostically unfavorable sign. Such babies have very little chance of survival; they have to be fed only through a tube.

Reasons for the complete lack of sucking in babies:

  • injury to the medulla oblongata in childbirth;
  • weakness of the chewing muscles, circular muscle of the mouth, tongue;
  • deep prematurity.

Features of the sucking reflex in premature babies

Babies born prematurely with low weight have many different health problems, their own characteristics of development and nursing. In particular, the sucking reflex in premature babies, as well as the swallowing one, is often absent, especially when the body weight is less than one and a half kilograms, when there is also underdevelopment of many organs, their small volume, impaired thermoregulation, difficulty breathing, etc.

Inadequacy of reflexes is associated with insufficient development of mechanisms of nervous regulation and incomplete formation of the sucking muscles. Such children cannot be immediately attached to the breast, but making a long delay is also scary due to the possible large loss of body weight.

A long delay is given in the event of severe trauma or suspected cerebral hemorrhage. If the child has not been applied for more than 12 hours, then he is transferred to parenteral nutrition with a glucose solution. Probe feeding of premature babies is practiced with a significant decrease in sucking and swallowing, while the volume of each feeding is dosed with a special syringe. They switch to bottle feeding after the baby has good reflexes.

The issue of breastfeeding is decided separately for each child, taking into account his condition and the stability of reflex signs. Usually they start with one or two times a day, if the child gets tired at the same time, then they feed him from a bottle, in total such children are fed up to 10 times a day. The main thing in the process of nursing premature babies is not to force events.

The process can be long, but success is ensured with the competent approach of doctors and the mother of the baby, such children catch up with their peers by the end of the first - maximum of the third year of life.

Thus, the sucking reflex is one of the most important innate reflexes endowed by human nature to ensure the most comfortable conditions for survival and further development. Its complete absence is an irreparable misfortune, incompatible with life, and a decrease is a formidable signal of a serious neurological problem, which must be immediately started to look for and eliminated by all possible means with the involvement of neuropathologists and other specialists.