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| |    Newborns and Reflexes: The Body's Autopilot by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Babies are born with a whole array of pre-programmed behaviors that don't serve any obvious purpose now, but might have in the human race's distant past. For example, if you carefully support a baby on your arm, face up, and gently allow her head to drop back an inch or two, she startles, opens her arms wide and then brings them together as though grabbing on. If you put your finger in a baby's hand, she hangs on with surprising strength. You can pry her fingers off, or simply stroke gently across the back of her hand and, presto, the hand opens up. If you hold a baby face down on your arm and stroke along her spine, her body wriggles back and forth, almost like a fish. If you hold her up under the arms and gently drag her feet forward, you might see her take a couple of steps. If you lay her on her back and turn her head to one side, she stretches out the arm and leg on that side, and bends the limbs on the opposite side. Why this so-called "tonic neck reflex" should exist I have never been able to fathom! But until it goes away, it makes it very difficult for a baby to grab hold of something and bring it to her mouth because her arm wants to stay straight out in the direction that she's looking. Some early reflexes have obvious survival value. If you cover a baby's face with a cloth, her hand comes up to swipe it away - a reflex that has clear benefit in preventing suffocation. A baby lying face down on a mattress will try to lift her head and turn it to the side, again to ensure unblocked breathing space. Unfortunately, this protective mechanism is not completely reliable, so we have learned that babies are much safer when we put them to sleep lying on their backs. What do early reflexes mean? The study of infant reflexes is part of every doctor's basic training. But what do these reflexes really tell us? If they are equal on both sides of the body, they show that key brain and muscle machinery is in good working order. (You can't very well tell a baby to stretch out her left arm, but you can get her to do it if you know the right reflex to use.) The other important thing about these early reflexes is that they disappear over the first few months, to be replaced by movements that are under the baby's control. When early reflexes persist too long-a rare event, actually-it can be a sign of underlying neurological problems.
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