often meets Xinbao’s parents for consultation, saying that the baby has been sleeping well in his hands for more than 20 days, but when he put it down, he suddenly opened his hands and awakened himself; or some one or two A month-old baby who was sleeping well, would suddenly be shocked, his arm shook, and sometimes scared himself to cry. Why is this?
Actually, this is what we often call the startle reflex, also called Moro reflex.
The startle reflex is a full-body action that can be seen most clearly when the baby is lying on his back. Sudden stimulation, or putting a baby in a crib, etc., can cause startle reflexes. When the startle reflex occurs, the baby's arms are straightened, the fingers are spread, the back is stretched or bent, the head is tilted back, the legs are straight, and the arms are folded. This reflex disappears within 3 to 5 months. If the reflex persists after 5-6 months, parents may consider taking the child to the hospital for consultation. Before telling everyone about the startle reflex, let's first understand the topic of sleep cycle.
The sleep cycle of small month-old babies
Everyone has a sleep cycle, deep sleep, light sleep, and awake, repeated cycles alternate. Compared with adults, babies’ sleep cycles have a faster alternating time and more light sleep. Especially for children under three months, light sleep is very common. Adults sleep very well as soon as they go to bed, because we will enter a deep sleep period first, but within three months of the baby, will enter active sleep first, that is, light sleep, the baby is basically in the light sleep after alternating dark and light sleep Wake up after sleep.
If you observe a little month-old baby during the light sleep period, you will find that the light sleep period will be accompanied by startle reflexes. Babies will make some movements during light sleep. For example, it is very normal to manually move the foot, or make some sounds. A little month old baby may have more than half of the sleep time in light sleep.
Therefore, mothers don't have to worry, don't rush to intervene when the baby is moving, it may disturb the baby's sleep instead. However, if it is a baby whose startle reflex is particularly strong and will even wake him up, parents may consider taking the child to the hospital for examination.
startle reflex is mainly manifested in three aspects: vision, hearing and touch.
Therefore, although we do not recommend keeping the room completely quiet when the newborn baby is sleeping, the sound in the environment should not be excessively noisy, and it is best not to make sudden loud noises.
There should be no sudden light around the baby, and the usual light should not be too glaring, especially when you are basking in the sun.
Before touching your baby, it is best to focus your baby's consciousness on your body in a gentle tone, and then reach out to touch your baby, so as not to be frightened. Do not let your baby be squeezed, or injured by heavy objects and other physical injuries.
If the newborn baby often has startle reflexes, you can try to gently wrap the baby with a sheet to make the baby feel more secure.
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