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Table of Contents
Triggers
Why Some Don’t Have It
When They Outgrow It
At Checkup
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Newborn Easily Startled: What Triggers the Moro Reflex?
Other Newborn Reflexes That Healthy Babies OutgrowBelow are six primitive reflexes present in newborns that healthy babies typically outgrow a few months after being born:Grasp reflexMoro reflexRooting reflexStepping reflexSuck reflexTonic neck reflex
Other Newborn Reflexes That Healthy Babies Outgrow
Below are six primitive reflexes present in newborns that healthy babies typically outgrow a few months after being born:Grasp reflexMoro reflexRooting reflexStepping reflexSuck reflexTonic neck reflex
Below are six primitive reflexes present in newborns that healthy babies typically outgrow a few months after being born:
Reasons Some Newborns Don’t Have the Moro Reflex
The complete absence of a newborn’s Moro reflex on both sides of the body (symmetrical) may be the result of many things, including:
Asymmetrical Moro reflex reactions (occurring on only one side of an infant’s body) may be due to a local injury, such as abroken collarbone, damage to a peripheral nerve, or a cervical cord problem.
When Do Newborns Grow Out of the Moro Reflex?
Newborns typically grow out of the Moro reflex about 8 to 12 weeks after birth. Between 2 and 5 months of age, it’s normal for the Moro reflex to disappear gradually. Persistence of the Moro reflex beyond 6 months of age is considered abnormal and would be regarded as too long for this primitive reflex to last.
Moro Reflex at Newborn Checkups
That said, there’s no need to try to stop an evolutionarily preserved primitive reflex like the Moro reaction from occurring during early infancy. It’s happening for a reason and should be outgrown in two to six months.
Summary
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Rousseau PV, Matton F, Lecuyer R, Lahaye W.The Moro reaction: More than a reflex, a ritualized behavior of nonverbal communication.Infant Behavior and Development. 2017;46:169-177. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.01.004Gieysztor EZ, Choińska AM, Paprocka-Borowicz M.Persistence of primitive reflexes and associated motor problems in healthy preschool children.aoms. 2018;1:167-173. doi:10.5114/aoms.2016.60503Standford Medicine Children’s Health.Newborn reflexes.Healthychildren.org.Newborn reflexes.Hamer EG, Hadders-Algra M.Prognostic significance of neurological signs in high-risk infants - a systematic review.Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016;58:53-60. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13051Futagi Y, Toribe Y, Suzuki Y.The grasp reflex and Moro reflex in infants: hierarchy of primitive reflex responses.International Journal of Pediatrics. 2012;2012:1-10. doi:10.1155/2012/191562Webb WG. Pediatrics. In:Neurology for the speech-language pathologist. Elsevier; 2017:234-255. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-10027-4.00011-7Bigelow AE, Williams LR.To have and to hold: Effects of physical contact on infants and their caregivers.Infant Behavior and Development. 2020;61:101494. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101494Additional ReadingInce DA, Ecevit A, Yıldız M, et al.Evaluation of Moro reflex with an objective method in late preterm and term infants.Early Human Development. 2019;129:60-64. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.01.009Kutzsche S.Ernst Moro (1874‐1951) was much more than the reflex that was named after him.Acta Paediatr. 2021;110(2):400-403. doi:10.1111/apa.15504
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Rousseau PV, Matton F, Lecuyer R, Lahaye W.The Moro reaction: More than a reflex, a ritualized behavior of nonverbal communication.Infant Behavior and Development. 2017;46:169-177. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.01.004Gieysztor EZ, Choińska AM, Paprocka-Borowicz M.Persistence of primitive reflexes and associated motor problems in healthy preschool children.aoms. 2018;1:167-173. doi:10.5114/aoms.2016.60503Standford Medicine Children’s Health.Newborn reflexes.Healthychildren.org.Newborn reflexes.Hamer EG, Hadders-Algra M.Prognostic significance of neurological signs in high-risk infants - a systematic review.Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016;58:53-60. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13051Futagi Y, Toribe Y, Suzuki Y.The grasp reflex and Moro reflex in infants: hierarchy of primitive reflex responses.International Journal of Pediatrics. 2012;2012:1-10. doi:10.1155/2012/191562Webb WG. Pediatrics. In:Neurology for the speech-language pathologist. Elsevier; 2017:234-255. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-10027-4.00011-7Bigelow AE, Williams LR.To have and to hold: Effects of physical contact on infants and their caregivers.Infant Behavior and Development. 2020;61:101494. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101494Additional ReadingInce DA, Ecevit A, Yıldız M, et al.Evaluation of Moro reflex with an objective method in late preterm and term infants.Early Human Development. 2019;129:60-64. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.01.009Kutzsche S.Ernst Moro (1874‐1951) was much more than the reflex that was named after him.Acta Paediatr. 2021;110(2):400-403. doi:10.1111/apa.15504
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Rousseau PV, Matton F, Lecuyer R, Lahaye W.The Moro reaction: More than a reflex, a ritualized behavior of nonverbal communication.Infant Behavior and Development. 2017;46:169-177. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.01.004Gieysztor EZ, Choińska AM, Paprocka-Borowicz M.Persistence of primitive reflexes and associated motor problems in healthy preschool children.aoms. 2018;1:167-173. doi:10.5114/aoms.2016.60503Standford Medicine Children’s Health.Newborn reflexes.Healthychildren.org.Newborn reflexes.Hamer EG, Hadders-Algra M.Prognostic significance of neurological signs in high-risk infants - a systematic review.Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016;58:53-60. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13051Futagi Y, Toribe Y, Suzuki Y.The grasp reflex and Moro reflex in infants: hierarchy of primitive reflex responses.International Journal of Pediatrics. 2012;2012:1-10. doi:10.1155/2012/191562Webb WG. Pediatrics. In:Neurology for the speech-language pathologist. Elsevier; 2017:234-255. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-10027-4.00011-7Bigelow AE, Williams LR.To have and to hold: Effects of physical contact on infants and their caregivers.Infant Behavior and Development. 2020;61:101494. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101494
Rousseau PV, Matton F, Lecuyer R, Lahaye W.The Moro reaction: More than a reflex, a ritualized behavior of nonverbal communication.Infant Behavior and Development. 2017;46:169-177. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.01.004
Gieysztor EZ, Choińska AM, Paprocka-Borowicz M.Persistence of primitive reflexes and associated motor problems in healthy preschool children.aoms. 2018;1:167-173. doi:10.5114/aoms.2016.60503
Standford Medicine Children’s Health.Newborn reflexes.
Healthychildren.org.Newborn reflexes.
Hamer EG, Hadders-Algra M.Prognostic significance of neurological signs in high-risk infants - a systematic review.Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016;58:53-60. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13051
Futagi Y, Toribe Y, Suzuki Y.The grasp reflex and Moro reflex in infants: hierarchy of primitive reflex responses.International Journal of Pediatrics. 2012;2012:1-10. doi:10.1155/2012/191562
Webb WG. Pediatrics. In:Neurology for the speech-language pathologist. Elsevier; 2017:234-255. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-10027-4.00011-7
Bigelow AE, Williams LR.To have and to hold: Effects of physical contact on infants and their caregivers.Infant Behavior and Development. 2020;61:101494. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101494
Ince DA, Ecevit A, Yıldız M, et al.Evaluation of Moro reflex with an objective method in late preterm and term infants.Early Human Development. 2019;129:60-64. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.01.009Kutzsche S.Ernst Moro (1874‐1951) was much more than the reflex that was named after him.Acta Paediatr. 2021;110(2):400-403. doi:10.1111/apa.15504
Ince DA, Ecevit A, Yıldız M, et al.Evaluation of Moro reflex with an objective method in late preterm and term infants.Early Human Development. 2019;129:60-64. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.01.009
Kutzsche S.Ernst Moro (1874‐1951) was much more than the reflex that was named after him.Acta Paediatr. 2021;110(2):400-403. doi:10.1111/apa.15504
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